Hope For The Future
by My Whole Life Is Thunder
Summary: Sequel to "Secrets of the Past", Tony has been reunited with his long lost daughter Mollie and the love of his life Ziva David. Even better Ziva brought with her a second daughter. Tony adores his new family and they love him but Tony and Mollie are both haunted by their tragic pasts. Now they must lean on each other and their new family for recovery. Warnings inside. Tiva, Mclilah
1. Prologue

Tony studied himself in the mirror, he put his hands on his hips and smiled at his reflection. He wore a gray Ohio State t-shirt with a giant "O" in red, a pair of blue jeans and red and white running shoes. He had bought this outfit a month earlier after being released from the hospital and it hung off of him. That was when he realized just how much weight he had lost. He still had a way to go but he was slowly getting back to himself. He started to leave the room, satisfied with his outfit. Until he caught a glimpse of the scars on his wrists. They were jagged and despite being close to four months old still red and obvious. Today was his first day wearing short sleeves since coming home. Even his family had not yet seen his arms. He started to change until he heard the alarm on his phone ringing and realized that if he wanted to get pictures of her before her first day of school he had to get going. Taking a deep breath he walked across the hall, opened the closet door, and ascended the stairs that led to the attic. He saw Mollie sitting cross legged on her double bed. She was dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans and a slightly over-sized Black and White t-shirt that read "Piano Girl".

"You ready to go?" Tony asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Mollie sighed.

"Hey don't worry it won't be so bad." Tony assured.

"Do you think I will fit in?" Mollie asked.

"I am sure that you will do fine. You are so pretty, smart, and creative. You may not be popular but when it comes to friends it is quality that matters not quantity." Tony explained.

"That is the most dad answer I have ever heard." Mollie laughed.

"Well I guess I am a natural then." Tony replied.

"But seriously I am not going to know anyone!" Mollie cried.

"Well Emily Fornell goes to your school. That is why I sent you there I can't remember what grade she is in but you will probably have classes together." Tony replied.

"Emily Fornell?" Mollie asked.

"You remember Tobais Fornell who you gave the statement too?" Tony asked.

"From the FBI?" Mollie questioned.

"Yes well his daughter Emily is about your age. Her mother died last year and her dad had some issues afterwards. So she is in group too." Tony explained.

"I'll try to talk to her." Mollie replied.

"Great I think that you will really like her." Tony replied.

* * *

Mollie watched her dad leave her bedroom. After he left she looked out the window at the lawn below. They had been living in the new place for about three days now but it felt like a lifetime. It was an old house bought at a loss from an family desperate to get out from under the house payments from their parents fixed mortgage. There were three bedrooms but Mollie had opted to live in the attic. Even though Ziva had offered to share a room with Kelila for the time being. Mollie loved her room. It was spacious and bright. The privacy was the best benefit to the attic room. That and the fact that nobody could see into her window but she could see out.

"Mollie! Get down here if you want to have time to eat!" Tony called.

"COMING!" Mollie called back.

* * *

The DiNozzo's and the David's ate a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and French Toast. After the meal was gone Ziva wished Mollie a great first day and got a picture of herself with Mollie and then one of Mollie and Kelila. She then left to take Kelila to daycare. After Ziva and Kelila left Tony and Mollie had their own photo session and then Mollie was off to catch the bus. Tony walked to the end of the block, making sure to keep his distance but once Mollie rounded the corner and did not look back he knew to let go. He then turned and headed back to the house. He needed to get to work. It had come as a relief to him when he was allowed to go back to NCIS after only a week out of the hospital. Even better he was permitted to return to field duty in the second week albeit under some strict provisions. For starters he was not allowed into the field alone, he needed another agent on his six at all times and he was not to handle his or any other service revolver unsupervised. Basically all that meant was that he could not go down to the shooting range by himself and he had to leave his gun with Gibbs anytime he went off alone. He was relieved that his teammates were understanding and respectful of his recovery. Of course he knew that Gibbs would always protect him and for the most part McGee was kind to him. Bishop was the only one had given him trouble with Mollie but she had been reassigned to a team somewhere near Oklahoma or closer to Oklahoma, Vance would not say. The team now had a new probationary agent. Her name was Laura Nathaniel, she was only twenty five years old and this was her first real job. She had shoulder length reddish brown hair and blue eyes. She was short and flat chested but she was beautiful. Though Tony had zero interest in her. He was in love with Ziva and besides she liked Jimmy. She had quietly asked Tony about her and he had told her about Breena. So Laura was working on building a strong friendship with Jimmy. She would grab coffee with him, joke around with him, and sometimes she brought little gifts for Victoria. Nothing too romantic but maybe one day it would build to something.

* * *

Mollie had gotten pretty good at pretending in her short life. Especially in the past few months and for that she was eternally grateful. Because today she needed to do a lot of pretending. Pretend that she was not scared to death, pretend that she did not see her dad following behind her on the way to school, pretend that she was not embarrassed. Most of all she had to pretend that she was ready to come back to school. She had not been in well over a month and now here she was starting a strange school, under a new name. To top it off she had also gone back a grade. Her old school would not release any of "Lonnie's" information to "Mollie". So it was basically like starting over. She had taken a test to determine what grade she would do best in and even though she had scored off the charts. Doing so well that she could have taken a test and graduated early. Due to her emotional trauma she had been placed in tenth grade for the final quarter. Then she would start the eleventh grade in the fall. In a way she was grateful that she would have an extra year to get to know her dad but on the other it was weird to repeat two grade for no reason. She studied her schedule, she had Algebra 2 first period. Then World History second, gym was third, then English for fourth. Fifth period was extended by twenty minutes as it was lunch period. It was also her science class. Six period was Sign Language it was the only language class that had an opening. Except for AP German which required a special entrance test. Her last class was Music Appreciation. It wasn't the most fun class but at least she would get to learn piano. She had group every afternoon which meant she was stuck after an extra hour. Not that it mattered much. Her parents were at work until at least five and it was too late to join any clubs or activities.

* * *

Somehow Mollie managed to get through her first day with limited issues. As it turned out Emily was in her grade. They were Math, History, English, sign, and Music with her. Unfortunate there was not time to talk and Emily must have had a different lunch period. School ended, Mollie grabbed her backpack, and headed toward the guidance office. Only to find that it was closed and she was to report to the "enrichment" room for group. She opened her backpack and began to panic when she realized that she had left her map at her desk in seventh period. She had no idea where the enrichment room was or what it was. She returned to the hallway and began to panic the buses had left and everybody had already gotten to their after school destinations. A strong wave of terror washed over her. She heard a male voice, a voice that sounded just like him. She ran for the nearest door and desperately turned the knob but it would not budge. She turned to run but was face to face with him. She tried to run but it suddenly the hallways seemed so small and tight. She could not breathe or move, she fell to the ground and began to shake violently. Suddenly he went flying down the hall and Mollie was face to face with a girl about her age. The girl had olive skin, short black hair and brown eyes. She wore torn jeans and Founding Father's high t-shirt. She had blue oval frame glasses.

"Go away, don't hurt me." Mollie plead.

"I am so sorry! I did not mean to scare you! I just wanted to tell you that, that is the teacher's lounge it is always locked." The girl explained.

"Where did he go?" Mollie asked.

"He? Oh you mean! Professor Evil!" The girl cried.

"Yeah him? Why did he fly?" Mollie asked.

"He's just a stupid prop for drama club. It's some idiot play about a pinata who comes to life and whacks kids with a bat. Some ninth graders wrote it and it's really dumb but what can ya do. I am sorry it scared you. I guess I will have to change him." The girl explained.

"It's fine for other people but he looks like my rapist." Mollie sniffed.

"Oh no! I am so sorry!" The girl cried.

"It's OK. I am sorry I freaked out." Mollie apologized.

"It's fine I get freak-outs. Do you want to go to the nurse? Do you have pills?" The girl asked.]

"No but I am supposed to be in group." Mollie explained.

"Yeah me too, I take it that you are new." The girl explained.

"Yeah it's my first day." Mollie replied.

"Figured as much. Anyway I just need to drop "The Professor" off in the drama room. Just wait here it is right down the hall and then I will walk you there." The girl explained.

"OK, thanks. I am Mollie by the way uh Mollie DiNozzo." Mollie introduced.

"Nice to meet you Mollie. I am Lana Johnson." Lana introduced.

"Lana that's a pretty name." Mollie remarked.

"Thank you" Lana replied.

"Lana if you don't mind me asking. Why are you in group?" Mollie asked.

"We have to say why whenever somebody new joins but it's all confidential. So it's no biggie. I am in group because my dad died of cancer and three days later my mom committed suicide." Lana explained.

"Oh Lana I am so sorry!" Mollie cried.

"It's OK well it's not OK but there is no need to apologize. I take it that you are in group because you were attacked." Lana replied.

"That ad about eighty other reasons." Mollie replied.

* * *

 **A/N: What do you think? Is the sequel going to be as good as the original? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	2. Lana's Connection

Mollie looked around the room that Lana had led her into. It was clearly a special education room. A shelf in the corner was lined with children's games and a wheelchair sat in the corner. There was a table and chairs on one side of the room and couches were lined up in an alcove area. The rest of the group sat in the alcove. Mollie and Lana walked over and took a seat on the empty love seat. Emily Fornell sat with another girl and two boys on one couch. Three boys and another girl sat on the third couch. After a while a tall extremely white man with curly brown hair that rested behind his ears. He wore a tweed jacket, white t-shirt, and a pair of khaki jeans.

"Good afternoon, I see that we have a new friend joining us today! Well I am Dr. Rosenberg but you may call me Joe." Joe introduced.

"Uh well I am Mollie DiNozzo." Mollie replied.

"It is great to meet you." Joe replied.

* * *

Joe pulled a rolling desk chair over and took a seat in the center of the group. He crossed his right leg over his left, propped his arms up on his right knee and leaned his hands on his chin. He could not look any more stereotypical if he tried. Well unless he somehow aged himself by about fifty or sixty years. He explained that he was not a guidance counselor but the school psychologist. He gave a very brief rundown of the group and then asked everybody to introduce themselves and give a brief explanation of why they were there. They started with Emily, though Mollie already knew her story. The next was the girl beside Emily. Her name was Jo-Ann and she had lost her left arm in a car accident over the summer. She had been a cheer leader and was sure she would be back next year. She was a little peppy for Mollie's liking but this was not a place to judge. Beside Jo-Anne was a boy named Carter he had been involved in a school shooting in middle school and his best friend had been killed. Beside Carter was Alvin. His uncle had touched him inappropriately when he was five and he only had the courage to admit it until just before winter break. One the other couch was a boy named Jude who had lost his older brother Adam to a drunk driving accident. Apparently Jude had wanted the car to go to play D&D with his friends but Adam had been invited to a party. Finally Jude got the car and the boy Adam rode with was drunk. Beside Jude was Colby who was apparently the brother of the kid who had been driving when Adam died. He had survived but had a brain injury and was in a vegetative state. Colby had begged Preston not to drive but he had called Colby a dork and drove anyway. The last boy was named Cole. He had just beaten leukemia for the third time and was only on his third day back at school following a Bone Marrow Transplant. The girl on the couch with the boys was named Eliza and her house had burned down a few months prior. Mollie was beginning to feel as if she was in a bad teen novel. She half expected to fall in love with Cole and then his cancer came back and he died. She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not realize how close she was to having to speak. Until she heard Lana begin to tell her story.

"My name is Lana Johnson and for as long as I could remember my dad had cancer. It started in his spleen when I was about three. I don't really remember it. I just remember staying with my mean grandmother Joann and my dad couldn't play and threw up a lot. He went into remission when I was four but it came back when I was six this time in the kidney. This time he was sick a lot longer. He did not hit remission until I was nine. It stayed gone for a year but came back and this time the doctors took out his kidney but it had spread. I was about eleven at the time and I was super embarrassed because he uh he could not control himself. well and my mom had to care for him all the time. He finally went into remission when I was thirteen and this time he stayed cured for almost a year. Then just before summer vacation last year it came back. It was in his liver and his remaining kidney and just about everywhere. It was in his brain. He was not eligible for treatment this time. His body would not have tolerated it and even if he could have he did not want to go through chemo again. I remember going to see him and he was having seizures. I was there for ten hours and he was only with it for about and hour of that time and the whole time he had no idea who I was. The next day I was supposed to leave for summer camp but my mom begged me not to go. She said she would make it up to me but I insisted. I had given up so much already. Finally she gave in. It was a two week session and two days before I was supposed to go home my dad died. Again I was supposed to come home but I wanted to stay for the end of camp. I wanted Johnny King to dance with me at the camp dance. I know it's stupid but again I got my way. The day I went home my grandmother came to get me. She talked about how ungrateful and horrible I was. When I got home the funeral director was parked in front of my house. My mom had committed suicide that morning. My grandmother made me go inside even though I was terrified. She told me that I had to do it because my mom giving in was why she had died. She also said that the body was gone but it was not and my mom had blown her brains out. I saw it all. My grandmother was yelling at me saying that I deserved this. Both of my parents were only children. Well my mom had a sister but she died a long time ago. Before I was born even. So my grandmother, became my legal guardian. She made me look at my parents autopsy photos and clean the clothes and carpet that were covered in their fluids. She kept me in the basement and beat me. Finally school started. My teacher noticed my bruises and asked me what had happened. I told her and she called CPS. I got home and my grandmother was waving a gun at the officers. She was naked and she was screaming about how the "liberal media was tarnishing poor Richard Nixon and how somebody should assassinate that uh um negro uh blower Kennedy." I honestly don't know what she was talking about. They took me away and a few days later I found out that my grandmother had dementia and had not taken her bipolar meds in a year. She is in a nursing home now but I am afraid to see her." Lana spoke.

"Do you have a home?" Mollie asked.

"No I am in a new foster home almost weekly." Lana spoke.

"Don't you have any family?" Mollie asked.

"My mom's sister was married but her husband does not want me. At least that's what my grandmother insisted. She was crazy but who would take in a kid they had never met? The child of your dead wife's equally dead sister." Lana scoffed.

"Hey Lana what was your grandmother's name again?" Mollie asked.

"Joann, why?" Lana questioned.

"Just curious and what was her last name?" Mollie asked.

"Fielding" Mollie replied.

"Were her daughters named Shannon and Samantha?" Mollie asked.

"Yes my mom was Samantha and her sister was Shannon." Lana replied.

"Did Shannon have any children?" Mollie asked.

"Yes a daughter named Kelly. My middle name is Kelly for her. She died with her mom." Lana explained.

"Lana was Shannon by chance married to a Jethro Gibbs?" Mollie asked.

"Yeah she was? How do you know all of this?" Lana asked.

"Because I know your uncle and I can safely say that if he knew about you, he would want you." Mollie replied.

* * *

 **A/N: How will Gibbs react to the fact that he has a niece he never knew about? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	3. Gibbs' Reaction

Tony rubbed his temples out of frustration. Today was one of those days that was just too much. They were working a challenging case that would probably not end at least a few days. To make things worse both McGee and Bishop were fighting colds and worst of all. Poor Jimmy was having a hard day and ended up having to leave work early. Tony didn't know the exact details. He just knew that Jimmy had broken down bad in autopsy that morning and Ducky ended up driving him home. Tony had planned on taking off early to pick Mollie up from school. Stopping by and checking in on Jimmy on the way but then they caught this case. This nightmare of a case. It was a particularly gruesome case, even a probie would attest to that. It was just stressful and convoluted. Tony wanted only to go home and get some rest but it was looking like he was going to be pulling an all nighter.

"You alright, Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"Just tired." Tony admitted.

"Go get Millie from school and take a breather. All of you take a bit. McGee, Bishop I want you to get checked out by Ducky. If he says go home just call me and go." Gibbs instructed.

"But Bosh we ard dhe MCRD." McGee sniffed.

"OK if you are calling me Bosh and there is nothing you are allergic to in here. You need to get checked out." Gibbs warned.

"I don't get sick." Bishop groaned.

"We'll just see what Ducky says." Gibbs retorted.

"And here I am just fine! A-OK!" Tony teased.

"Don't get so cocky. You as much as sniffle and I'm dragging you down to Ducky myself." Gibbs warned.

"Yes sir" Tony sighed.

* * *

Mollie swung her backpack over her shoulder and headed out of the room. Emily had to get to a baby-sitting job but Lana had agreed to ride home with her. Apparently her latest foster parents really didn't care where she went. As long as she came home alive. She had been with them for three days and she was already praying that she would be declared a bad fit and sent back to the group home. Mollie felt terrible for her friend. She could not imagine living in a group home where she was basically just a number. Her only reprieve being when a nearby foster family agreed to take her in. The cruel part is that would have been Mollie's life if she had not uncovered the truth. Her parents would have never come home and eventually she would have been caught. Mollie looked back and studied Lana. Now that she was thinking of it she really could see similarities between her new friend and the woman in the photo that Gibbs had shown her. They had the same smile and similar bone structure. Mollie waked out the front door to go and catch the late bus. They locked all the other entrances at three o'clock. She was about to round the corner to the bus ramp, when she heard somebody honking at her. She whirled around and was surprised to see her dad's car parked in one of the guest spaces. Confused she walked over and started to get in the passenger seat. Even more surprising Gibbs was sitting there. She looked back and noticed that Lana was behind her, with a protective look on her face. Her dad took a step closer and Lana immediately raced around her and started at Tony, waving her fists.

"It's OK, Lana. It's just my dad." Mollie assured.

"Oh nice to meet you Mr. DiNozzo, I am Lana Johnson and I am a friend of Mollie's." Lana introduced.

"It is good to meet you too Lana and I am glad that you are looking out for my daughter." Tony replied.

"What are you doing here?" Mollie asked.

"Gee I feel loved." Tony remarked.

"It's not like that. It's just I am surprised to see you here. You guys are usually home until after six o'clock." Mollie replied.

"McGee and Bishop are sick. So we had to hand our case over." Tony replied.

"Oh cool. Is it OK if Lana comes home with us?" Mollie asked.

"Is it OK with her parents?" Tony asked.

"It's OK with Cindy and Derek." Lana replied.

"She calls her parents by their first names?" Tony questioned.

"They are the wardens in my group home." Lana sighed.

"Group home?" Tony asked.

"Lana is a foster child." Mollie replied.

"Oh" Tony replied.

"Actually we uh need to talk to Gibbs about that." Mollie remarked.

"Well he hasn't had coffee in two hours. So I'd hold off til we get to the diner." Tony replied.

"Alright" Mollie agreed.

* * *

Once himself and the girls were safely buckled into the car, Tony slowly pulled out of the school's parking lot and headed towards the diner. He looked back at the girls, Mollie was behind him and Lana was behind Gibbs. Kelila's car-seat was in between them. He studied Lana who was sitting with her arms crossed over her chest. He could tell that she was trying to look rough but he could sense the fear on her from a mile away. He wondered what had happened to her and why Mollie wanted to talk about her with Gibbs. Finally they arrived to the diner and Gibbs got out and made a beeline fore the counter. Tony and the girls followed close behind him. After everybody was seated and Gibbs had their largest cup of coffee. Lana gave Mollie a nervous look and then Mollie cleared her throat and looked up at him and Gibbs.

"So uh Gibbs this is my new friend, Lana." Mollie introduced.

"Nice to meet you Lana." Gibbs replied.

"It is good to meet you Mr. Gibbs." Lana replied.

"The uh reason that I wanted you guys to meet right away. Why I am glad that you were there to pick me up. Well Lana is Gibbs' niece." Mollie replied.

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked.

"My mother was Shannon's sister." Lana replied.

"No! You're not funny! Why the fuck would you little brats think that this is funny! Jesus Christ, Mollie! I let you stay in Kelly's room and this is how you repay me?! And you Lana is that really a nice thing to tell somebody you never met! Don't you assholes care what I have been through?!" Gibbs snapped.

"Gibbs" Tony whispered.

"And you! I treat you like a son! I put my ass on the line for you at least once a year and you still let your asshole daughter act this way! Well I am done with you! I am done with all of you assholes! And Tony I suggest that you find a new team! Because you are off mine!" Gibbs bellowed, storming out of the restaurant.

* * *

 **A/N: What caused Gibbs's extreme reaction? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	4. Gibbs' Secret

Needless to say nobody had much of an appetite after Gibbs's blow up. Tony paid for the drinks they had already received and then ushered everybody out of the diner. He noticed the look of concern on Shirley's face as they left and he realized that Gibbs truly was completely different in the real world than he was at NCIS. Tony climbed into the front seat and then looked at the girls who sat in the back. Mollie was leaning hard against the back of the seat, her arms were crossed over her chest, and she had tears in her eyes. Lana sat on the other side of the backseat. She just looked shocked and mildly frightened.

"Do you guys want to go anywhere else?" Tony asked.

"Just take me to my group home. Will give you directions." Lana ordered.

"Alright, Mollie you want to do anything?" Tony asked.

"No" Mollie sniffed.

* * *

Tony dropped Mollie off at her group home, more like her prison. There was an outer gate complete with a security guard and then an inner gate. There were no trees and the house looked like something out of a documentary on a third world country. After Lana left Tony again looked at Mollie. She was still crying and it was shattering Tony's heart. He made the drive home in silence and was not at all surprised when Lana ran up to her room without saying a word. He spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the couch his phone in his hands. Wanting to call Gibbs but not wanting to be verbally attacked a second time. Ziva arrived home with Kelila about seven thirty that evening. She had Kelila on her back and bags from a local Chinese place in her arms. She dumped the food down on the kitchen counter and then returned to the room.

"Have you heard from, Gibbs?" Tony asked, as Ziva set Kelila down on the floor.

"Not since you guys left. Why?" Ziva asked.

"He had a bad freak out at the diner and I was wondering if he had called anyone." Tony explained.

"What happened?" Ziva asked.

"Mollie made friends with this girl Lana and apparently she is Gibbs' niece. I don't know what the hell caused it but when Mollie told him. He just blew up on all three of us. I think he fired me." Tony explained.

"That does not sound like, Gibbs." Ziva remarked.

"Well it happened." Tony argued.

"I don't doubt that. It just doesn't sound like Gibbs." Ziva replied.

"It doesn't and that's what I don't understand." Tony replied.

"You should go check on him. I am going to talk to Mollie. Dinner is in the kitchen whenever you get hungry." Ziva explained.

"I'll be back soon. Hopefully without an application for Arbys." Tony said.

"It will be fine. He was probably just stressed." Ziva assured.

"Yeah and Gibbs always calms down so quickly." Tony murmured.

* * *

Tony reluctantly took Ziva's advice and went to check on Gibbs. He really hated facing Gibbs when he was was in a mood but it was necessary. He needed to try and save his job and more importantly he needed to set Gibbs straight over his treatment of Mollie. It was one thing to treat him like crap but nobody messed with his little girl. He pulled into Gibbs' driveway about twenty minutes after he had left his own home. So it was just a little past eight but the lights were already off in the house and the porch light was not on. There was a faint light coming from the basement but not enough to guide him to the house. He turned on his phone's flashlight and made his way up the drive. He kept the flashlight on until he made it to the basement stairs. He peaked over the railing and saw Gibbs hunched over his work table. Once he was on the landing he coughed and Gibbs turned his head to face him. His facial expression was not burning with rage like it had been that afternoon. It had softened to a sad and nearly broken look. A look that Tony could only recall seeing when thinking of Shannon and Kelly. Maybe the news about Lana really was too much for him. Maybe his and Shannon's anniversary was coming up or maybe it was nearing Shannon and Kelly's birthday.

"Well what the hell do you want?!" Gibbs demanded.

"I came for an explanation as to why you made my daughter cry this afternoon?! You can treat me however the hell you want. You are my boss and it is to be expected that you are a hard-ass but you cannot! And I repeat NOT! Have the second B is for bastard act with my child! Good Lord! She is sixteen years old and has been through hell!" Tony snapped.

"Tony I..." Gibbs started.

"NO! This is unacceptable! Dammit would you have let somebody treat Kelly like that?! And then there's Lana! She was terrified and her life isn't exactly easy! I swear to God if you cost my little girl a friendship!" Tony snapped.

"Tony! Please just listen to me!" Gibbs insisted.

"What's your excuse?" Tony asked.

"Because I am scared that it is happening all over again." Gibbs explained.

"What's happening again?" Tony questioned.

"The reason Burley was moved to agent afloat and you are on my team. The reason it was just the two of us for so long. Just before you joined my team. Steph and I had separated and I came back to America. I was given a team. Burley was my SFA and there were two probies as my Junior Agents. Johns and Tucker. They seemed like nice enough kids. I actually let them in almost right away. They were the last people I freely told about Shannon and Kelly." Gibbs explained.

"You attacked my daughter because of two random probies?!" Tony demanded.

"No well sort of but I didn't mean to attack Mollie, you, or even Lana." Gibbs replied.

"Then what happened?" Tony asked.

"I told them about my girls and about a week later they told me that Shannon had been pregnant when she died and that the doctors had saved the baby. That she was in foster care and I could take her in. I was so happy. I had another little girl. I bought all these toys and washed stuff of Kelly's. Then I went down to the address they had given me. There was a girl lying on the bed and she looked real enough. I picked her up and her head fell off. It was a dummy. I just stood there horrified. For a long time I was frozen. Mike had to come, get me, and take me to the hospital. I found out later they had filmed my reaction for America's Funniest Home Videos. Johns and Tucker were fired and Burley who had been in on it but backed out was reassigned. He wasn't part of the prank but he didn't do anything to stop it either. He has since apologized profusely and I have forgiven him, but I have not forgotten what was done to me." Gibbs explained.

"Boss" Tony gasped.

"I guess it was pretty idiotic of me but I can't hurt again." Gibbs replied.

"Well I would never hurt you and neither would Mollie." Tony replied.

"Then who was that girl?" Gibbs asked.

"She was your niece and after Abby runs some tests. We will try again." Tony replied.

"You think she'll let me?" Gibbs asked.

"I will see to it." Tony vowed.

* * *

 **A/N: Now that Gibbs' secret is out can he rebuild his relationship with Mollie and have one with Lana? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	5. Terrorized

In that moment a ton of stuff started to make sense to Tony. He could not believe that people could have been so cruel to Gibbs and they were probies none the less. He could not imagine how Gibbs must have felt in that room. Holding that fake little girl. Having his hope dashed in and feeling as if he had lost Shannon and Kelly all over again. All Tony could say was that Johns and Tucker were damn lucky to have been long gone before he showed up.

"Look I will apologize to Mollie and Lana but I doubt they will accept it. I know that I would have trouble." Gibbs said finally.

"I will talk to Mollie but I do expect you to apologize to both girls." Tony insisted.

"Alright" Gibbs replied.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Tony asked.

"Forgive me for being a Jackass." Gibbs replied.

"Already done" Tony assured.

"Thanks" Gibbs replied.

"Now there is one more thing you can do for me." Tony replied.

"Anything" Gibbs replied.

"At least consider taking Lana in." Tony said.

"Done and done" Gibbs assured.

* * *

Mollie hugged her emoji pillow close to her chest. It didn't make sense. What had happened to Gibbs? To make him attack her like that. She didn't know how he would react to the news about Lana but she never expected him to act like he had. She wondered if he was just overwhelmed or if he really hated her now. She honestly didn't think that she could handle that. Gibbs had been the first person she could really trust after her attack and he had reunited her with her birth father. She was still figuring out enough about her life. She didn't need this. Why had she been so blunt? What on Earth had made her think that was a good idea? She had really blown it this time and the worst part is that it was Lana who would have to pay the price. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs leading to her room and then a soft knocking on her door.

"Come in!" Mollie called.

* * *

At her instruction, Tony stepped into her daughter's room. He found Mollie huddled up on her bed, her face plagued with hurt and confusion. He walked over and took a seat on the end of her bed. He gently placed his hand on her foot and she looked up at him.

"I talked to Gibbs." Tony said.

"Did I totally ruin your life?" Mollie asked.

"No you did not and Gibbs is going to be apologizing to you." Tony replied.

"What the hell happened to him?" Mollie asked.

"I'll leave it at he got hurt a long time ago." Tony replied.

"So he's not going to happen to Lana?" Mollie asked.

"Gibbs is going to try to take her in." Tony replied.

"Do you think she will forgive him?" Mollie asked.

"I can't promise anything but he is going to work hard to gain her trust." Tony replied.

"Maybe I can talk to her tomorrow." Lana offered.

"I think that would be great." Tony replied.

* * *

Lana sat up in her way to small bed in her room that would be small for one kid and somehow three were crammed in there. Two other girls slept on bunk-beds and she had the single bed. She hated her life so much right now. She was stupid for believing that things could actually get better for h er. She was garbage. Pure garbage. She had neglected father. Even when she knew that he was dying and she had killed her mother. If she had come home just a few days early. She could have been there and maybe she could have done something. Her grandmother was right. She really did deserve to suffer for her actions. She pulled herself out of bed and made her way to the only place she would ever find privacy in this prison. The maintenance/water heater closet. She sat on the old flipped over mop bucket that the other kids used as a seat when they smoked, drank, and read porno magazines. The rules of the closet were simple. If the door was locked don't even knock, leave the place clean, and for the love of God take your shit when you left. As if half the kids didn't buy their shit from the night warden old man Clark. Rumor was four kids had OD'd in there and each time Clark ground them up and mixed them in with the garden mulch. They probably weren't true but they were enough to make everybody be careful. Personally Lana never saw the appeal of drugs. Maybe because her real life was crazy enough without then but more likely she just wanted her future to actually be positive. She just came into the closet to think and reflect on her life. She picked up the faint smell of smoke and then heard the high pitched scream of the fire alarms.

"FIRE!" Old man Clark called.

"NO SHIT!" A boy cried from down the hall.

* * *

Lana hopped off of the bucket and raced for the door. She frantically unlocked the door and forced it open. Everybody was tearing out in a blur. All except for Duncan Rogers and Paul Schmidt. She could smell chemicals and pretty much knew that those idiots had caused the fire and were more than likely dead. She heard the staircase collapse as fat-ass Buddy Larson jumped down onto the ground floor. Really calling him fat-ass was being kind. Considering he was a psychotic drug addict who had killed his girlfriend by punching her in the stomach. Because he did not want to be a dad. Turns out she wasn't even pregnant. She was just saying she had been accepted into an elite private school. Buddy probably had something to do with that fire. Lana looked around all she saw was fire. Everybody else had made it downstairs. Her only option was to go out the nearest window. She used every ounce of her strength and punched out the glass. Closing her eyes she stepped up on the ledge and jumped. The next thing she heard was screaming. She opened her eyes and looked around frantically. Nobody was outside and the house was perfectly fine. She was completely soaked in what she could only pray was just sweat. It had happened again.

"What the hell did you do?! You little psycho!" Old Man Clarke barked.

* * *

Lana could not believe that it happened again. She hated "the dream" as she called it. Though it was really more of a nightmare. She had been having this nightmare for months now and there was always a reason for the terror. Tonight she knew that it was because she had lied to Mollie and she had been lying to everybody in group. Her dad never had cancer and her mom did not commit suicide. They had died but not in the ways she had described. Her grandmother had murdered them and she had very nearly killed Lana too. She had tortured the house and only Lana could get out. Just like in her dream the stairs had collapsed she had gone out the window. Old Man Clarke knew this but he never cared when she had the dream and he shamed her when she wet the bed. He was an abusive bastard and needless to say after this she was completely screwed. Old Man Clarke rushed up to her, grabbed her by the throat, shook her hard, and then threw her hard against the outer wall of the house.

"You're payin for that window you little psycho!" Old Man Clarke cried kicking her hard in the arm.

* * *

 **A/N: Hopefully Lana will accept Gibbs' apology. Because she clearly needs him. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	6. Possibility of Tragedy

Mollie sat on the floor of what she suspected had either had once been a tree house or what was the start of an unfinished one. The boards were all pretty solid and the ladder leading up was still sturdy. The platform was her favorite place in her new home. Besides her room that is. It was peaceful and best of all private. Kelila was still to small to climb the ladder and Tony and Ziva probably didn't even know that it was there. She was sprawled out on the rough wood starring up at the bright blue sky. There were a handful of clouds in the sky but mainly it was a sunny afternoon. She couldn't help but wonder what Lana was up to. She hadn't been in school the past few days and Gibbs hadn't said anything about the process of becoming her foster father. She knew that he had spoken with a lawyer and the manager of Lana's foster home. Manager that is seriously what the man called himself. He had also gone to Jimmy for advice on the process of becoming a foster and adoptive father. Mollie sincerely hoped that Gibbs truly had come around and that Lana would be accepting of Gibbs' apology and offer to be her guardian. Lord know that the two of them needed each other.

"MOLLIE!" Ziva called from the backyard,

"Is dinner ready?" Mollie asked.

"No but could you come down here real quick?" Ziva asked.

"Yeah sure." Mollie replied.

* * *

Mollie climbed down the top half of the ladder and then jumped down the rest of the way. It was only a few feet and she loved the rush of flying through the air. She landed on the soft grass with her feet spread and one hand landing with her feet. She looked around in all directions and then raced into the house. She quickly found her dad and Ziva in the kitchen. Her dad was walking around with Kelila on his shoulders and her mom stood by the stove. She looked around again trying to figure our what was going on. Nobody seemed upset and dinner certainly wasn't ready yet. Maybe there was finally news about Lana.

"What's going on?" Mollie asked.

"I just got a call from Emily's dad. He has a date Friday night. Uh it's his first since his wife died last year." Tony started.

"Oh that's great but what does it have to be with me?" Mollie asked.

"Well he isn't quite ready for a solo date yet. So he wanted to know if Ziva and I would like to come along. The reservations are at eight and we may see a movie or something after. So it will probably be late before we get home. I can get somebody to take care of Kelila if you would like but Tobais and I thought that it would be fun for you and Emily to have some time together. Would you like that?" Tony asked.

"That sounds really fun. Emily's pretty cool." Mollie replied.

"Alright I will let Tobais know and then see if Abby is willing to take Kelila. This should be her week to run the nursery for Mother's Night Out and Kelila could use a few more friends her age. So it would actually be perfect." Tony explained.

"Well I hope you guys have fun. Am I free to go now?" Mollie asked.

"Yes but dinner is just macaroni and hot dogs so it should only be half an hour or so. Don't get too involved in anything or go far." Ziva explained.

"Alright" Mollie replied.

* * *

Mollie went up to her room and flopped onto her bed. She grabbed her phone off of her bedside table. She was disappointed to see that she had no texts from Lana. Only a Facebook message from Emily that was basically the same thing she had just discussed with her parents and a text from Jude asking if she wanted to play come over and play Dungeons and Dragons. She told Emily she had just talked it over with her parents and it was a go. She then texted Jude back and told him she would have to check with her parents. Letting her curiosity get the best of her. She dialed Lana's number and waited for an answer. The phone rang five times and then went to message. Giving up she tried the number of Lana's group home. This time the phone picked up after only one ring.

"Hello?!"

"Is this Clark from Haven Group Foster Center?"

"Yes who the hell are you?!"

"Mollie DiNozzo I am friends with Lana Johnson."

"And?"

"I was wondering if she was available to talk or if you could tell me when to call back?"

"Lana doesn't live here anymore."

"Oh is she in another home?"

"NO! She ain't in a new home! She don't live here or anywhere anymore!"

"What do you mean?"

"What are you retarded?! She's dead you dumbass!"

"Dead? What happened?"

"Dumbass threw herself out the window the other night. She seemed fine but she didn't wake up in the morning. Coroner said she must've hit her head on the wall going down cause she had a subdural hemotoma."

"Lana's dead?"

"That's what I said!"

"I haven't seen an obituary and they haven't said anything at school. When is the funeral?"

"Jesus Chris! What fairy tail you livin in?! That girl was a foster child! Ain't nobody wanted or loved her! A funeral and obit would be a waste. She was buried at County Church Cemetery with the bums and unwanted lab cadavers."

"OK thanks bye."

* * *

Mollie hung up her phone and fell back onto her pillow. She could not believe it. Her best friend, the first person who had reached out to her was gone. It wasn't fair. Lana wasn't supposed to die. She just wasn't. She felt completely helpless. All she could do was lie back and cry for her lost friend. After a while there was a soft knocking on her door. Followed by her dad quietly asking if he could come in, shyly she replied it was fine. The door opened and her dad slowly walked across the room. Wordlessly he sat on her bed and put his hand on her shoulder.

"What?" Mollie asked.

"I have some terrible news for you." Tony sniffed.

"What?" Mollie asked.

"Gibbs just called me. He went to meet with somebody from Lana's group home today and they told him that she died the other night. She went out the window somehow and had a brain bleed in her sleep. I am sorry." Tony apologized.

"I know" Mollie sniffed.

"How did you find out?" Tony asked.

"I called the group home because Lana wasn't answering and I hadn't seen her in days. The guy was such a jerk. It's not right." Mollie cried.

"Oh Mollie I am so sorry." Tony apologized,

"I can't believe I won't ever see Lana again." Mollie sobbed.

* * *

 **A/N: Is Lana really dead or is something tricky going on? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	7. Date Night

The day of Tony and Ziva's double date with Fornell rolled around but Tony was wondering if he should cancel on Tobais. Not because of cold feet but because he was extremely concerned for his eldest daughter. Ever since learning of Lana's death, Mollie had become withdrawn and depressed. It broke Tony's heart to see his child so hurt. He couldn't help but blame himself if he had talked to Lana sooner. Maybe she wouldn't have jumped out the window and maybe she would still be here. He was furious with the man who headed up Lana's group home. First for not getting Lana medical treatment. She went out a second story window. Hadn't he been concerned at all or was she just a number. Secondly he was furious because of the way he had treated Mollie. She was just a child and he had called her stupid and basically told her that Lana's life had not mattered. They hadn't even given the poor girl a proper funeral. They had just shoved her in a hole in a cemetery for bums. Tony had seen that cemetery. Most graves didn't even have real markers. Just wooden crosses with a name if they could find one but most were just "Teenage Girl" or "Elderly Man". The only way a grave got a proper marker was if a member of the deceased's family made claim and paid for a stone. Tony would find Lana's grave and put a stone there. Even though he only knew her for a few short hours. He owed her that much.

* * *

Tony and Ziva were getting ready for their big date. Both were having serious doubts about the arrangement but as of that morning Mollie had insisted that she would be fine. They were going to be out a while but it's not like the would be unreachable. They would have their phones at dinner and they had given her the number of the theater they would be at afterwords. So it would be extremely easy for the teen to get in touch with her parents. It was now six o'clock in the evening. Abby had just left with Kelila, and Tony and Ziva were just getting ready to walk out the door. Mollie was sitting on the couch in the dark living room, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Mollie?" Ziva called.

"What is it?" Mollie asked.

"We are about to leave." Tony replied.

"OK" Mollie murmured.

"Are you sure that you are OK with us going? Because I am sure that Tobais would understand. Emily was friends with Lana too." Ziva offered.

"No you guys go have fun. If Emily is still coming over I will be fine." Mollie assured.

"Alright well the Fornell's should be here any minute. The reservations are at seven and the movie starts at nine thirty. So I would say it will be after midnight before we get home. Abby will be back with Kelila about nine thirty but if you guys are out she can keep her longer. We will be at Jones and Sons Cinema if you need us during the movie but if it's an emergency call Gibbs. If he isn't around call Jimmy Palmer." Tony explained.

"Alright" Mollie replied.

"Be safe and have fun. At least try to." Tony instructed.

"Alright" Mollie sighed.

"Homey if you are not OK we can stay." Tony offered.

"No it's fine! Just go! Life goes on!" Mollie snapped.

"Just call if you need me." Tony pleaded.

* * *

Tony and Ziva had left with Fornell and his date Debbie Kingston. They had dropped Emily off and now the teens were just lying on the floor of Mollie's room. Neither had said much passed hugging and crying over their lost friend. Mollie studied her friend and wondered how she felt about her dad dating again. Tobais and Diane had been divorced most of Emily's life before remarrying two and a half years ago. Apparently Diane had married at least once in that time and Tobais had more than likely dated other women but it still had to be weird. Emily' phone buzzed and she reached down and grabbed it from her pocket.

"Jude O'Connor wants to know if we want to play Dungeons and Dragons?" Emily asked.

"Jude from group?" Mollie questioned.

"Yes" Emily replied.

"Let me check with my dad." Mollie replied.

* * *

Mollie called her dad and quickly got permission for both girls to go over and play D&D with Jude. So long as there was an adult home. Jude quickly texted back that both parents and his grandfather were home. Since Tony's insurance wouldn't cover Emily driving his car and Mollie only had a learner's permit. The girls rode the bus to Jude's place. It was a nice two story house in a middle class neighborhood. When they arrived Jude was shooting hoops in the driveway. Like Lana, Jude was mixed race. His mom was a tiny but powerful black woman by the name of Linda. While his father was a lanky Irish immigrant named Patrick. In the center of the hallway hung a picture of Adam (Jude's dead brother) who was a dead ringer for Mr. O'Connor. Surrounding the picture were several family photographs and pictures of Jude and his other siblings. All ten of them. While they were a very attractive family and Jude was the most handsome of the men. He had a darker medium skin tone with wavy black hair that hung behind his ears and the most stunning blue eyes.

"Nice family" Mollie commented.

"And my mom's pregnant again. She got IVF a few months after Adam died." Jude explained.

"Wow" Mollie commented.

"I am glad to be an only though I had step siblings once. Do you even know all their names?" Emily commented.

"Adam, Jude, Corey, Destiny, Jack and Joy, Brandon, Maya, and Ruby and Rosanne." Jude replied.

"Two sets of twins?" Mollie gasped.

"Yep" Jude replied.

"What about ages?" Mollie asked.

"Adam would have been eighteen, I am sixteen, Corey is fifteen, Destiny is fourteen, the older twins are twelve, Brandon is eight, Maya is six and Ruby and Roseann are two and a half." Jude explained.

"Impressive" Emily gasped.

After meeting the O'Connor siblings who were actually home on a Friday night. Emily and Mollie followed Jude down to the basement. A table was large sheet of paper, a pair of die, and a handful of game pieces.

"Either of you ever play?" Jude asked.

"No" Mollie replied.

"Once a long time ago." Emily replied.

"OK well I will teach you." Jude replied.

* * *

Mollie wasn't sure about learning how to play Dungeons and Dragons but Jude had asked twice now and Emily had really wanted to go. So she had reluctantly agreed. Jude sat at the head of the table. While Emily sat on one side. Mollie pulled up a stool to the end opposite Jude's. Because she may as well be pathetic. Jude was just going over the rules when her phone buzzed. Worried that it was her dad or Abby calling about an emergency. She took it out and pressed answer. She heard a whirring sound and heavy breathing on the other end.

"Hello?"

"He Mo Hel hueehe u who huhhhh"

"HELLO?!"

"Hel hel hel"

"Who is this?"

"La hel La hel"

"I am going to call the police if you don't identify yourself!"

"Mollie it's me Lana!"

"Oh very funny."

"No Mollie. I am not dead."

"Prove it!"

"You were scared of dummy for the spring play."

"Lana oh my God."

"Look we can be happy later but right now I need your help."

"What can I do?"

"Aren't your dad and surrogate grandpa cops?"

"Federal agents actually"

"Can you put one of them on?"

"They are not home."

"Call one of them and get them home. NOW! Or I will be dead for real."

"Yeah I will.

"NO! AGGHHHH! SHIT!"

"LAANNNAAAA!"

* * *

 **A/N: So Lana isn't dead but she is in grave danger. Will Gibbs and Tony be able to save her? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	8. The Mystery of Lana

Mollie let her phone fall from her hands and it bounced off the ancient shag carpeting that lined Jude's basement. Lana was dead but that girl sounded just like her and she knew about the incident with the dummy. The last time she had spoken with Lana. She was crying in the backseat over how Gibbs had attacked her. Now suddenly she was needing both Gibbs and Tony. Then there was that scream. The way her voice rang out in terror. It wasn't just because Lana had yelled. Even if she had managed to keep quiet. The terror would have been evident in Lana's voice.

"Mollie what's wrong?" Emily asked.

"That was Lana." Mollie gasped.

"Mollie, Lana is dead." Emily reminded.

"I have seen movies like this but most of the time it is revenge. Did she say anything about that night? In the woods maybe?" Jude asked, he didn't know about the incident with Gibbs.

"No but she did start screaming and ask if my dad and grandpa were cops." Mollie replied.

"Why would a dead girl need cops?" Jude asked.

"Because she isn't dead! I don't know what the hell is happening but I need to call my dad!" Mollie snapped.

* * *

Tony and Ziva were on one side of the booth, and Tobias and Debbie were on the other side. Tony's hand was resting awkwardly on Ziva's knee. While Tobais and Debbie kept nervously fondling each other. The table looked something like an eighth grade dance. Debbie was younger than Tobais around Tony's age and had been widowed for about two years now. She had a son away at college and a daughter who was nine and away with her scout troop for the weekend. Tony was about to ask if anybody was going to want to order desert. When he heard his phone began to ring. He quietly withdrew it from his pocket and saw that it was Mollie calling. He whispered that he "needed to take this" and then slipped out of the restaurant. He stood over by gate to the outdoor eating area.

"Hello?"

"Dad! I need you home now!"

"Mollie? What's wrong?"

"I got this call a few minutes ago. It was this girl. She said that she was Lana."

"Did somebody prank you?!"

"I don't know she sounded just like her and she knew about something that happened my first day I never told anybody about and she knew that you were cops. Only a couple of people know that."

"Did she say where she was? Do you remember the number or does your phone at least have enough juice to where I can check things out at the office?"

"Yeah I'm fully charged."

"Alright I am going to get Ziva and figure out a way home. You just stay put."

"Oh dad one more thing."

"What is it?"

"Bring Gibbs"

"That goes without saying."

* * *

Tony hung up with Mollie and nervously made his way back into the restaurant. He knew that he should have just stayed home. He knew that Mollie would need him. He knew that he should have listened to himself and not his daughter. Hadn't he learned anything from Gibbs.

"Was Mollie OK?" Ziva asked.

"No she wasn't." Tony replied.

"What happened?" Ziva asked.

"She got a call from a girl who said that she was Lana. The girl was in trouble." Tony explained.

"I thought Lana was dead." Debbie whispered.

"She was" Fornell replied.

"Look I don't know what is going on here but the girl Mollie talked to wanted me and Gibbs. I have to help her." Tony explained.

"I will pay and then let's go." Fornell replied.

"Are you sure?" Tony asked.

"I am going to help you guys. Lana is Emily's friend too." Fornell replied.

"Tobais she didn't ask you and I am not ready to go." Debbie commented.

"You know what a child is in trouble! What if it was Felicity?" Fornell snapped.

"Well it's not! And I don't want her having a dad who is always working!" Debbie hissed.

"Pay for your own meal! And find your own ride home! This date is over and there won't be a second one!" Fornell raged.

* * *

Needless to say between the news from Mollie and Tobais' breakup with Debbie. Made for a very awkward drive to NCIS Head Quarters. Besides Tony calling Gibbs with the news. There was only silence in Fornell's car. Fornell had, had three drinks at dinner and Tony had had two and a half. Ziva being the only one who hadn't been drinking ended up driving. For once her break neck speeds behind the wheel were comforting. Tony, Ziva, and Fornell arrived to HQ first but were just walking into the building when Gibbs swung his car into his spot.

"Where's Mollie?" Gibbs breathlessly asked.

"Jude's dad is bringing her over." Tony replied.

* * *

Mollie rode in the backseat of Jude's dad's Toyota. Jude was in the front seat and Emily was beside her and behind Mr. O'Connor. Emily and Jude had insisted on tagging along. Even though only Emily really had any business being there. Still Jude was seemingly obsessed with this. Mollie wondered if he was just that desperate for a real perilous quest or if he had been interested in Lana. Part of her was kind of hoping that it was the first scenario or at least that Lana wouldn't return Jude's feelings. Of course if Lana were still alive. If she were OK. Mollie would let her have every boy she wanted. When Jude's dad pulled up to the NCIS security booth. Mollie handed him her ID and the guard asked if he was Adam O'Connor Senior. Mr. O'Connor then showed his ID and the car was waved through. Mr. O'Connor walked the girls inside but made Jude wait in the car. Once they had been waived through by security Mollie and Emily took the stairs two at a time up to the squad room.

"Where's your phone?" Tony asked.

"Here" Mollie replied tossing her phone into her dad's hand.

* * *

Lana came to about two hours later. She felt dizzy and nauseous. He head ached and she could feel the blood that had dried onto her head. The rats in the room had eaten most of her Vienna sausages and chewed through her water bottle. That was all the food she would be getting for the next two days. Her clothes reeked of sweat and blood. The door swung open and Joanne stumbled into the room. Her breath reeked of alcohol and just general stink. She saw the rat eaten food and slapped Lana hard across the face. She then yanked her arm, shoved her down, and kicked her hard in the chest.

"That's all the food your getting you little bitch!" Joanne snapped spitting into Lana's face.

* * *

 **A/N: Tony needs to find Lana and fast. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	9. Escape From Hell

Tony, Gibbs, Ziva, and Fornell were hard at work trying to track down Lana. Mollie and Emily were fast asleep downstairs in Abby's lab. The girls didn't really have any business being at the office but their dad's wanted them there anyway. Just going on the off chance that whoever had targeted Lana would want to take Mollie and Emily as well. Tony looked over at Gibbs and noticed a just how distraught his boss looked. He quickly got up ran down to Abby's lab, grabbed a packet of coffee and put on a pot in the break-room.

"Where you go?" Gibbs asked.

"Put on some coffee, bound to be a long night." Tony replied.

"If your making coffee I'm running to the diner. Can't stand that sludge." Gibbs remarked.

"I got one of the emergency packs from Abby's lab." Tony clarified.

"Good boy. Now get back to work." Gibbs ordered.

* * *

Tony returned to his desk and went back to his work. They were in some serious shit. The phone Lana had called from had either had the SIM card removed or had been made other wise untraceable. The idea that, that sweet little girl could end up dead terrified him. The idea of a child dying was painful enough but it was made even worse by the fact that he knew this child. If she died it would hurt not only him but also his baby girl and his surrogate father. Neither of whom deserved anymore heartbreak.

"Tony" Ziva called.

"Yeah?" Tony asked.

"Abby just called me. She said that she is praying for us and Lana, and that she is dropping Kelila off with Ducky and Jimmy." Ziva explained.

"They up for that?" Tony asked.

"Yes they can handle it." Ziva assured.

"Alright" Tony replied.

* * *

Lana managed to drag herself over to the far corner of her cell. She pulled the soggy, mildew ridden rug over her head and tried her hardest not to breathe too loudly. Mercifully Joanne had passed seemingly passed out but she knew better than to get too comfortable. Far too many times Joanne was just pretending to be passed out to lull her into a false sense of security. She had even made it almost out the door on her second night. She wanted only to wake in the morning and find that Joanne had died in the night. It was a cruel thought but Joanne was a cruel woman. She had murdered her own daughter and her son-in-law. Now she was actively working at ending the life of her granddaughter. Lana knew that she was sick but that didn't excuse her actions. Lana had met several Bipolar people in her life and none of them had been like this. They were unpredictable and could be dangerous but Joanne was full on psychotic. After a while Lana realized that Joanne really, truly was asleep. She grabbed the pocket knife Joanne had brandished her with one day. She knew that Joanne had a gun but the last Lana had seen that it was in a holster under the old woman's sleep pants. No way in hell Lana was taking that kind of a chance. She slowly and quietly climbed upstairs and gingerly stepped over Joanne's body. Her heart dropped when she realized that she had forgotten her cellphone but there was noway in hell she was taking any chances by going back. She quickly but quietly left the house. Once she was off the premise she started to run. She shoved the knife in her pocket and tore down the street. It wasn't long before her relief was replaced by terror. She had no phone and she had no idea where she was. The best thing she could do right now was find a police or fire station. Somewhere with trustworthy adults who could help her find the people who cared for her.

* * *

Leon Vance turned his car onto the quiet street. He had not been planning on going out that night. He had gotten into his pajamas and had just poured a glass of wine. When he heard his phone ringing. It was Mrs. Miller. The mother of Jared's best friend. Jared who had been staying at his friend's house had begun throwing up about an hour before. At first they had just thought it was from running around so soon after dinner but it wasn't long before he was found to be feverish. The child was now sleeping in the way back clutching a barf bucket and Leon was very nearly asleep. Then the peace came to an abrupt halt. A girl who looked to be about Kayla's age darted out in front of him. He slammed on the brakes and the girl began to pound on his window. He rolled the window down to tell the girl off and ended up getting a glimpse of her. Her face was swollen, beaten, and bloody. Her hair was matted and her clothes were tattered and messed. Not many sixteen year olds lacked bladder and bowel control and the certainly didn't run out in front of cars if they were at all OK. This girl was clearly in some sort of trouble but the question was if she was trouble. He reached over and double checked that his gun was in the glove compartment. No way in hell he was taking any chances with his son.

"HELP ME!" The girl cried.

"Are you dangerous?" Vance asked.

"I am safe. I was kidnapped. My grandma kept me tied up in the basement for over a week." The girl explained.

"OK what is your name?" Vance asked.

"Lana Johnson" Lana replied.

"And what is your grandmother's name?" Vance asked

"Joanne Fielding" Lana replied.

"Really?" Vance gasped.

"Yes it's a long story. Just take me back to NCIS. Please the people who can help me are there. Please I won't hurt you." Lana pleaded.

"NCIS?" Vance asked.

"My best friend's dad is there trying to find me and so is my grandpa. I don't think he likes me but I hope that he will save me." Lana explained.

"Who are your dad's friend and your grandfather?" Vance asked.

"Tony DiNozzo is Mollie's dad and Jethro Gibbs is my grandfather." Lana replied.

"Well take it from me your grandfather likes you. He was probably just confused." Vance replied.

"How do you know? Can you even go to NCIS? At least take me close." Lana questioned.

"They tend to let the director of NCIS pop by whenever he likes and I have known Jethro for years. Even before I became director." Vance assured.

* * *

 **A/N: Lana is finally safe but how manage damage has been done? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	10. Sleepless

Leon got out and helped Lana into the passenger seat of his car. She was dirty and covered in bodily fluids but he didn't mind. The seats could be washed but Lana was struggling to stand. He got her buckled into the seat and she immediately slumped over on her side. Leon placed his hand on her shoulder. She stirred slightly and groaned. Leon noted the large gash on the side of Lana's head. It was obvious that the girl was in desperate need of medical attention. Bethesda was the closest hospital and he knew that she would get the best care. She had wanted him to take her to NCIS. Apparently she was Jethro's granddaughter. Which didn't make sense to him. As far as Leon knew Kelly was had been Jethro's only child and she had been dead for twenty-five years. Even if Kelly had been alive this time she would have only been seventeen or so when Lana was born. Teenagers got pregnant pretty regularly but still this seemed fishy. Again Leon looked over at Lana. This time she was crying for her parents and begging somebody named Joanne to stop. Whatever Jethro was to her, Lana needed him and Tony needed to know that his daughter's friend was safe. Leon withdrew his phone from his pocket and dialed Tony's number.

* * *

Tony choked down the last swig of his vile cup of coffee. He wondered why the hell Gibbs liked this stuff. It tasted like the smell of dog farts. He turned his head in time to see Gibbs take a swig and immediately spit it out into the trashcan. That's when Tony remembered Gibbs' coffee came in a clear plastic bag and Abby's dog had been sick, and the vet needed a stool sample. The stool sample was somewhere in Abby's lab. Tony had just given Gibbs, dog shit. Even worse he had drank an entire cup of dog shit. He prayed to God that there was a parasite in the dog poop that would kill him. Before Gibbs did it.

* * *

"DiNozzo! Up now!" Gibbs barked.

"I'm sorry I made you drink dog shit!" Tony cried, falling out of his chair.

"What?!" Gibbs demanded.

"The coffee! I got it out of Abby's stash and it was beside her dog's stool sample. I must have grabbed the wrong bag. Oh Boss I am so sorry." Tony apologized.

"Tony, Abby's dog was sick two weeks ago. That sample is long gone." Gibbs assured.

"Then why did you yell for me to get up?" Tony asked.

"Because your phone has been ringing for five minutes and you have been snoring for twenty." Gibbs explained.

"Oh right, sorry!" Tony cried.

* * *

Tony pulled himself back up into his chair. The good news was the dog shit coffee was a nightmare, the bad news was that he had probably just fractured his tailbone, and the ringing of the phone probably wasn't good news either. It was probably somebody calling to tell him that Lana was dead and if he hadn't fallen asleep she would have lived. Taking one last deep breath he answered his phone.

"Hello?"

"Tony it's me."

"Oh hi director. What's going on?"

"I found Lana."

"You what?!"

"I found Lana."

"How?"

"Jared got sick at a sleepover and I had to pick him up. When we were driving home this girl flagged me down and it was Lana."

"Is she OK?"

"She is pretty beat up and I think she has been held captive. I am taking her to Bethesda as we speak."

"That's good"

"She also told me that Gibbs was her grandfather but I don't see how that's possible."

"Gibbs isn't her grandfather. He is her uncle. At least that's what she told Mollie."

"Well she has a nasty gash on her head. So it's safe to say that she is concussed. All the more reason to get her checked."

"And you are taking her to Bethesda?"

"Yes"

"OK I will tell everybody and get the girls. Then we will meet you there."

* * *

Mollie buried her head in Abby's Vampire emoji pillow. She was exhausted but knew that sleep would not be coming that night. Not with Lana in danger or worse. She shuddered at the idea of losing her best friend again. Emily was sitting Indian style on the other side of the futon, watching The Walking Dead on her iPad.

"You aren't gonna get scared. My dad watched with me once and he woke up screaming." Emily laughed.

"No it's fine. Hey you have any Talking Dead on there? Chris Hardwick is so adorable." Mollie admitted.

"I think AMC keeps that up but I am not sure. I was just watching cause I can't sleep." Emily explained.

"And watching a zombie show is supposed to help?" Gibbs asked entering the room.

"I am not sleeping until Lana is OK." Emily replied.

"Well we have some good news for you." Fornell told his daughter.

"Lana is OK?" Mollie cried.

"We hope so. Director Vance found her when he was driving Jared home. He thinks she has a concussion and she is pretty beat up but she's alive." Tony explained.

"Where is she?" Mollie asked.

"Leon is taking her to Bethesda. You girls can either come with us to wait for news of Ziva can stay here with you." Gibbs offered.

"We want to go to the hospital." Mollie insisted.

"Yeah we need to know if she is OK, ASAP." Emily added.

"Are you sure? It is going to be a lot of sitting around and waiting." Tony reminded.

"We know and it is just fine." Mollie explained.

"Yeah it's not like we were going to sleep anyway." Emily added.

"Alright well get your shoes on and let's get going." Tony instructed.

* * *

 **A/N: Lana and Gibbs can finally talk in the next chapter. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	11. The Waiting Game

The small "family" had gathered in the hospital's waiting room. Tony had Mollie in his arms, while Emily sat beside her father, and Gibbs walked around in a circle. Vance was back speaking with a police officer about finding Lana. While Jared slept on a couch on the other side of the room. Leon wanted to stay until he heard something about Lana. So he had called Lara to pick Jared up and then stay over with him and Kayla until, he got home. The family was mostly silent though occasionally somebody would comment on the wait or ask if anyone else should be called. Gibbs wasn't speaking to anyone but every so often he would curse under his breath and kick at one of the empty chairs.

"What if she doesn't make it?" Mollie asked.

"She is going to be fine. We are just getting her checked out to be safe." Tony assured

"What the hell happened?" Mollie asked.

"I don't know but Gibbs, Fornell, I will talk to her soon. That being said if she does not want you and Emily to know the details you have to respect that." Tony explained.

"I know" Mollie assured.

"This is ridiculous how long does it take to check for a concussion?! I am going back there!" Gibbs snapped.

"Jethro it's only been twenty five minutes." Fornell reminded.

"What if it were Emily?!" Gibbs demanded.

"I'm not saying I don't care. I am saying that it has been less than half an hour." Fornell clarified.

"This is still taking too long! I am going back there!" Gibbs snapped, kicking over a chair and storming to the back.

* * *

Leon Vance gave his statement to the police and then returned to the waiting room. He walked over to where Jared was waiting. He took a seat on the couch and carefully placed Jared's head on his legs. He hadn't done that since Jared was a little boy, since before they moved to DC. Lara had texted him and told him that she was on the way.

"Oh I am sorry. I didn't know we had any patients waiting." A young doctor apologized.

"I am not waiting. My son just has a stomach virus but I had to give a statement to the police regarding a kidnapped teen I assisted on the way from bringing him home. His nanny is coming to stay with him. So I can wait for news on the girl." Vance explained.

"Are you sure you don't want to get him looked at? He looks really bad." The doctor questioned.

"I guess you can check him out if you want but I want to come back with him." Vance replied.

"I understand." The doctor replied.

"What's going on?" Jared asked.

"We are going to get you looked at real quick." Vance replied.

* * *

Gibbs drummed his fingers on the arms of his chair and sighed. When he went to go check on Lana, he had been told to be patient and that Lana was still getting examined. That was nearly an hour ago. It had been close to two hours since Lana had been taken back. What was taking so long? What if something was seriously wrong with Lana? What if she had a severe brain injury or had gone into shock? What if she was dead?

"Family of Lana Johnson?" A doctor called from the doorway.

* * *

Tony, Fornell, and Gibbs stood; and walked back with the doctor. Mollie and Emily stood and began to follow them but quickly fell back into their seats. Remembering that it would be up to the adults and Lana what details they heard. Emily pulled out a notebook and began jotting down Colombo fan-fiction. While Mollie took out her phone and responded to a text from Jude. It was about fifteen minutes before Tony and Fornell returned. Tony took a seat beside Mollie and Fornell took the one beside Emily.

"How is she? Where is Gibbs?" Mollie asked.

"Gibbs is back with Lana." Fornell replied.

"Is she OK?" Emily asked.

"Her main problems are a grade two concussion, severe dehydration, and three broken ribs. She also has several cuts that required plastic surgery to close but that was for vanity reasons. She also has irritation from uh being in bloody clothes for so long." Tony explained.

"But she's going to be OK?" Mollie asked.

"She is going to be fine but they are going to keep her for a few days and she may be home before you can see her." Fornell explained.

"Can we call or text her?" Mollie asked.

"I will have Gibbs see what she is up for." Fornell replied.

"But for now we need to get you girls home and into bed." Tony replied.

* * *

Leon Vance and Lara were the sole occupants of the surgical waiting room. Leon had gotten Jared checked out because he heard a voice telling him that it was necessary. The doctor had run some tests and it turned out that Jared had acute appendicitis.

"Leon Vance?" Dr. Miller called.

"How is he?" Leon asked.

"Jared came through surgery just fine. He is in recovery but will be moved to a regular room shortly. You will be able to visit him briefly after that." Dr. Miller explained.

* * *

It was now very early in the morning and Tony was the only one left awake. Gibbs had called him and said that Lana was awake and communicating well with him. Leon had called and said that Jared had been diagnosed with appendicitis. He had, had surgery but was doing really well. Still Tony was stressed out and worried. He knew that he would not rest until Lana was home and he knew what the fuck had happened to her. He was sitting on the couch watching an old episode of Elvira on one of those super high up movie channels Ziva had said they would never watch.

"Can't sleep?" Ziva asked.

"Not even a little." Tony replied.

"Lana and Jared are just fine and the police are going to talk to Lana in a few hours." Ziva assured.

"I still don't know what the hell happened to Mollie. Why did they make me think she was dead? Why is my dad in prison?" Tony questioned.

* * *

 **A/N: Lana gives her statement in the next chapter. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	12. Statement

By the following afternoon Lana was declared well enough to give her statement to Tony. Who wasn't exactly thrilled about having to take her statement. After getting next to no sleep the night before, but he headed to the hospital anyway. He swung by the hospital gift shop and bought a small teddy bear for Lana to hold while she gave her statement. He knew that she was old for a teddy bear but she was still young and giving a statement was never easy. He figured if she didn't want it he could just give it to one of the sick children. He made his way to the pediatric floor and quickly found Lana's room. She was sitting up in bed eating a cup of jello. When she saw him she looked up and set the cup down on the tray.

"Good afternoon, Lana. How are you feeling?" Tony asked.

"Alright" Lana replied.

"Are you still up to give your statement?" Tony asked.

"I just want to get it out of the way." Lana replied.

"Alright now you are going to have to be one hundred percent honest with me, OK? Even if somebody threatened to hurt you. You are on protection detail and as soon as you have your statement we are going to send agents out to find anyone who hurt you." Tony explained.

"OK" Lana sighed.

"Good, now can you tell me the name of your kidnapper or at least the sudoname they used?" Tony asked.

"She was was my grandmother Joanne Fielding and she didn't kidnap me. The manager of my group home. Clark, I can't remember his last name but the home was called Haven Group Home." Lana explained.

"Was he unaware that she is dangerous?" Tony asked.

"No he knew." Lana replied.

"Why did he return you to her then?" Tony asked.

"My parents did not die of cancer and suicide like I said. They were murdered by my grandmother. She stopped taking her pills last year and last summer she got into a fight with me and my parents. That night she torched our home. She wended the windows shut and nailed boards over our front and back doors. I managed to kick out my window and jump out but my parents were not so lucky. Ever since that night I have had nightmares about the fire. The night after I met you I had that nightmare. It was so bad I was sleepwalking and I jumped out the window. Clark got mad at me and handed me back to my grandmother. He knew about the fire but he did not care. He said that I deserved it because I was crazy and I destroyed property." Lana explained.

"Do you remember Joanne's address?" Tony asked.

"It was something like one four eight Live Field. I don't know." Lana replied.

"Alright I think I have enough information, is there anything else I need to know?" Tony asked

"No that's everything. At least it's all I can remember." Lana replied.

"You were very brave and I am proud of you. We should be done here but I will call you if I have any more questions. Now try and get some rest, OK?" Tony explained.

"Thank you" Lana replied.

* * *

Even though she would have rather sat around and wait to see if Lana was ready for visitors. Mollie ended up spending the day with Ziva and Kelila. First they went to Build A Bear and Mollie ended up making a Federal Agent Ballerina Bear. It was a little ridiculous but Build A Bear was one of the many thing she had missed out on in her childhood. After that they went to the bookstore and then to FEY. They finished the day by having a picnic lunch at the park. After they ate Ziva took Kelila to the little kid playground. While Mollie hung out at the older kids playground.

"Mollie!" Jude cried running up to her.

"Jude? What are you doing here?" Mollie asked.

"Eight soon to be nine or ten little siblings." Jude replied.

"Right" Mollie replied.

"Did you bring Kelila?" Jude asked.

"Ziva brought us." Mollie replied.

"Oh cool" Jude replied.

"Judy! Maya's fixin to have an accident!" Brandon called.

"Am not! I just gotta tinkle but I can hold it." Maya argued.

"Can't Destiny take her?" Jude asked.

"She's with the little twins." Brandon replied.

"Well I gotta go help my sister. I will text you later." Jude replied.

"OK" Mollie replied.

"Oh yeah if you and Emily want I have some movie passes." Jude replied.

"Oh cool." Mollie replied.

"Jude! Mama's gonna be mad if Maya comes home with wet shorts!" Brandon called.

"They aren't gonna be wet! I'm potty trained!" Maya snapped.

"Well I really have to go. Oh yeah and remind me not to have eight kids." Jude sighed.

"Yeah sure!" Mollie cried.

* * *

Tony looked at his watch and grimaced he could not believe that he was looking at another late night. He had barely slept the night before and now he was facing another all nighter. A BOLO had been placed on Joanne who had apparently skipped town but they were coming up empty on Clarke. He lowered his arm and went back to work. It wasn't long before he was yawning and struggling to stay awake.

"Go get some rest, DiNozzo. You are useless to us if you are falling asleep." Gibbs instructed.

* * *

Gratefully Tony pulled himself up and headed down to Abby's lab. He barely made it to the couch in Abby's lab, before collapsing and falling asleep. He felt guilty for falling asleep but he was just so tired and besides he really was off his game. He heard footsteps on the lab floor and blinked one eyes open. Expecting it to be Abby coming back to collect something she had forgotten or to make sure the Caf-Pow machine was stocked. Instead he saw Joanne Fielding standing over him holding a gun.

"Asleep on the job are we?" Joanne asked.

"Gibbs!" Tony called still foggy and half expecting this to all be a nightmare.

"Jethro never could protect his family. Joanne laughed placing the barrel of the gun on Tony's temple.

* * *

 **A/N: Will Tony be able to escape Joanne? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading**


	13. Down The Barrel

Joanne forced Tony to get off the couch and ordered him to walk with her. When he tried to refuse she dug the gun deeper into his head. She walked over to Abby's laptop flipped it open and ordered him to log her on and log her onto Abby's video chat account. His heart dropped when she made him go to McGee's account. He knew what she wanted. She wanted Gibbs to see him in peril. She was going to bargain for her release or worse bargain to get Lana back, and she was going to use him to get her way. His mind went to Ziva and his girls. He wondered if he would ever see them again or if he would fall victim to Joanne. He wished that he was a stronger man but then again there wasn't a whole lot you can do when somebody is holding a gun to your head. One wrong move and Abby's lab is covered with his brains. Not exactly how he wanted to go out. All he could really do was pray that Gibbs could save his life without having to throw Lana under the bus.

"You are just a pretty boy? Aren't you?" Joanne asked.

"I wouldn't get too cocky. Gibbs is already pissed at you." Tony replied.

"Gibbs didn't protect Shannon and Kelly. His wife and daughter. MY flesh and blood. Why the hell would he care to save you?" Joanne questioned.

"Because he can stop you!" Tony snapped.

"He can but he won't." Joanne smirked, cocking the gun.

* * *

Gibbs studied DiNozzo's empty desk. Part of him really wished that he had just told Tony to get some coffee and suck it up. They really couldn't afford to be down a man for even a few hours. Even though it would only be for a few hours. Then again Tony wasn't much use to him when he couldn't even really sit up. He studied McGee who was wide somehow wide awake but shaking. Gibbs eyed a crushed can of red-bull beside the Junior Agents desk and a groaned. He let out a second groan when he noticed that McGee had picked up his tablet. He had no problem with letting Tony take a nap but there was no way that McGee was going to play games or Skype with Delilah.

"That's weird" McGee remarked.

"I don't have time to worry about your virtual hamster's candy village or whatever the hell the newest game is." Gibbs remarked.

"No it says that Abby is trying to video chat with me." McGee replied.

"So maybe she can't sleep, just tell her that you are busy." Gibbs replied.

"No it's coming from her lab." McGee replied.

"Turn it on, maybe DiNozzo has something for us." Gibbs instructed.

"Shit! Boss you need to get over here." McGee replied nervously.

* * *

Gibbs groaned and drug himself over to McGee's desk. Wondering why the hell he couldn't just talk with DiNozzo himself or better yet why Tony couldn't call them or even better walk back upstairs and tell them in person. He looked over McGee's shoulder and what he saw made his stomach churn. Tony was standing in front of the computer, with a deer in headlights look on his face. Joanne stood beside him, holding a gun to his head.

"Is there a reason you have my Senior Field Agent at gunpoint?" Gibbs questioned.

"Aside from the fact that your negligence got my daughter and granddaughter killed. I want to know where the girl is." Joanne explained.

"You murdered Shannon's little sister. Your only other child and you damn near killed Lana!" Gibbs snapped.

"Just tell me where the girl is." Joanne demanded.

"I will do no such thing. Now you have two choices. You can either release DiNozzo or I can free him myself." Gibbs explained.

"I am sorry but I am going with the third option." Joanne smirked, cocking the gun.

* * *

Running on pure adrenaline Gibbs grabbed his gun and ran downstairs. Praying to God that he would not hear a gunshot. If that bitch killed DiNozzo he was going to beat her until his own heart stopped beating. A feeling of relief washed over him when he got to the lab and saw that Tony was still alive but the feeling was short lived. Joanne turned towards him and shoved the gun into Tony's skull. Tony winced and groaned. He pulled out his own gun and aimed it at Joanne. She reacted by moving Tony in front of her. Using him as a human shield.

"What are you going to do now?" Joanne asked.

"Pretty amusing for a woman who was furious at a her daughter for marrying a sniper." Gibbs replied.

"Boss I appreciate you trying to help me but this is a bad time to argue with your former mother in law." Tony commented.

"Brace for impact DiNozzo." Gibbs warned.

* * *

Gibbs took a deep breath and said a silent prayer. He held his hands as steadily as possible but there was still a definite tremor as he squeezed the trigger on his gun. The bullet fired out of the gun and raced towards Joanne. The bullet hit her in the arm and she released DiNozzo. As she fell, he fired his second bullet. This one his her square in the forehead. Exactly the same way that Kate and Diane had died but this time he was relieved to see that the woman was dead. His relief quickly faded because what he saw next was DiNozzo lying on the floor, bleeding from his abdomen. His greatest feat had been confirmed. The bullet had gone through Joanne's arm and his Tony. He dropped his gun and ran over to his boy's side. He removed the jacket from his suit and held it to Tony's chest. He used his free hand to call for an ambulance.

"How you feeling, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Just peachy boss. Never been better." Tony wheezed.

"I know I have said this before but this time I really, really need you to follow through on it. You will not die. You really can't die like this. I cannot lose you this way." Gibbs explained.

"Not so sure I can keep that promise boss." Tony coughed, small amount of blood spattering out of his mouth.

* * *

 **A/N: Will Tony survive this one? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	14. Powerful Feelings

Gibbs knew almost instantly that something was wrong with Tony, very wrong. He had been shot in the abdomen. That was made painfully obvious by the blood pouring out of his body but that didn't explain why he was coughing up blood. It didn't explain why Tony didn't look well even when he was just in Joanne's arms. Tony was now totally unconscious and his breathing had become extremely labored.

"Where is that damn ambulance?" Gibbs wondered aloud.

* * *

McGee sat at his desk wondering if Gibbs had gotten to Tony in time. Wondering why the hell Gibbs had not allowed him to come down with him. He had heard a gunshot but nothing after that. McGee prayed that Gibbs had shot Joanne and was just getting Tony calmed down. Because the alternative was far too horrifying to even think about. The silence was once again interrupted, this time by the sound of his desk phone ringing. Who was calling and why were they not calling Gibbs?

"McGee?"

"This Jack from security are you still in the bullpen, Agent McGee?"

"Yes sir"

"Can you come down to the lobby and escort the paramedics down to Abby's lab?"

"Pa...Paramedics?"

"Yes Agent DiNozzo was shot."

"Is he OK?"

"I don't know but given that an ambulance is coming. I would say probably not. Anyway I just need you to bring your badge and show the medics to the lab."

"Yeah I will be right down."

* * *

A slew of powerful emotions were rushing through Gibbs as he applied pressure to Tony's wound. He had no idea where the paramedics were. He was sure that they had said that they were fifteen minutes out but that was twenty minutes ago. Tony was rapidly losing blood and it didn't help that he was coughing it up for some reason. He heard the door open but knew better than to get his hopes up. He remained stoic until he saw McGee rushing through the door followed by a trio or paramedics.

"Thank God!" Gibbs cried.

"I thought you said he was hit in the abdomen." One of the medics commented.

"He was" Gibbs replied.

"Then why is he coughing up blood?" The medic asked.

"I don't know" Gibbs replied.

"Where's the dead woman?" The second medic asked.

"Over there but she can just be taken down the morgue." Gibbs explained.

"I will call Ducky and Jimmy." McGee replied.

* * *

Gibbs opted to ride in the ambulance with Tony. Tony's vitals were extremely concerning to the paramedics. He did not have much of a fever but his blood pressure was low yet his heart rate was erratic. He coughed up two more wads of blood before being loaded into the ambulance. Gibbs sat in the little chair by his son's side. Tony's legs and chest were strapped down to the stretcher and at first Gibbs thought it was unnecessary. Until Tony's eyes rolled back into his had and his body began to jerk. The seizure lasted for seven minutes. He was just coming around as the paramedics were rushing him into the ER. Gibbs watched in horror as Tony was rushed through the double doors and up to surgery. He heard a doctor order blood to be drawn.

"What's happening to my agent?!" Gibbs cried.

* * *

One by one the rest of the team arrived to the hospital. McGee was first, and then Abby, then Vance, then Ducky and Jimmy. Ziva and Mollie were the last to arrive. Ziva to leave Kelila and Lana with Fornell while her and Mollie were at the hospital. Mollie took a seat on the other side of the wall across a small walkway from where the others were sitting. She sat with her arms crossed and every once and a while she would shoot daggers at Gibbs. Finally Gibbs had, had enough of the surly behavior and walked over to where the teen was sitting.

"I am sorry about your dad but I am sure he will be OK. I've seen him come back from worse." Gibbs offered.

"Your sorry?! Your sorry?! Well you should be! You shot him! You are why he's in surgery!" Mollie snapped.

"Mollie I feel terrible but I had to take Joanne down." Gibbs replied.

"You shouldn't have gone down without backup! Do you know how irresponsible that is?! Now my dad could die! Because you had to be the hero! Somebody else could have gone from behind and hit her in the leg or back! Or you could have just apprehended her! Now my dad could die and this is all your fault!" Mollie snapped.

"Mollie I..." Gibbs started.

"Don't talk to me! The way I see it you are dead to me!" Mollie cried.

* * *

Mollie's words stung at Gibbs' heart like a sharp knife. He could not believe that the girl he loved like a granddaughter hated him. He certainly did not blame her. Not after what he had done. He knew that ti was stupid to go alone but he just wanted to save Tony. He wasn't thinking clearly and now everything had come crashing down. He had shot Joanne and killed her, but the bullet had hit Tony and now he was dying. He could lose a second child and it would be nobodies fault but his own. Still a lot of Tony's symptoms did not make sense. Why was he coughing up blood and why did he have that seizure? It's not like he had hit his head that hard when he hit the floor. What had happened?

"Family of Anthony DiNozzo?" A doctor called.

"That's us." Ziva and Gibbs called in unison.

"All of you?" The doctor asked.

"Yes" Ziva replied.

"I am Dr. Ramirez." Dr. Ramirez introduced.

"How is he?" Gibbs asked.

"We were able to remove the bullet with relative ease. It was just under the skin but unfortunately Anthony is in critical condition." Dr. Ramirez replied.

"What happened? How could this happen?" Ziva asked.

"We have reason to suspect that he was poisoned." Dr. Ramirez replied.

* * *

 **A/N: Who poisoned Tony and how? Was he the only victim and will he pull through? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	15. Poison

A series of gasps escaped the mouths of the healthy members of Team Gibbs. They knew that there was something wrong with Tony but they didn't think it was this serious. They thought that he had just picked a terrible time to come down with something or the bullet wound had been more serious than they thought. How could Tony have been poisoned? Had his food been targeted, his coffee? Or had Joanne injected him with something into him when she had him at gunpoint. Certainly Tony would have noticed that and reacted accordingly? Something was defiantly hinky here.

"What was he poisoned with?" Ziva asked,

"That is what we are trying to figure out." Dr. Ramirez replied.

"Well is he at least going to be OK?" Mollie asked.

"Unfortunately we can't answer that at the moment. Before we can do anything with him we must determine what type of poison we are working with. After that we will just have to wait and see exactly what the effects are. What I can tell you is that we need to determine what the poison is and fast. Every second is precious." Dr. Ramirez explained.

"Well don't just stand there! Help him! Find out what the poison was!" Mollie snapped.

"She's right McGee and I will go to NCIS and look for evidence. Abby you come too and you can test anything we find right away." Gibbs ordered.

"On it" McGee replied.

"Can Tony's daughter and I see him?" Ziva asked.

"Not at this time in the ICU, I'm afraid." Dr. Ramirez replied.

"OK" Mollie replied.

"We can see him first thing in the morning, Tateleh." Ziva replied.

"He may not be here in the morning!" Mollie snapped.

* * *

Gibbs and McGee made the drive to NCIS in silence. They couldn't think of anything to discuss aside from Tony's condition. Neither wanted to even think of the possibility of losing Tony. All they knew was that they had to find out what Tony had been poisoned with. Most critically they needed to know what had been used. So the doctors could know how to treat Tony but also they needed to ensure that nobody else was poisoned or at risk of poisoning.

"How are you feeling?" Gibbs asked, as they climbed out of McGee's car.

"Fine, you?" McGee asked.

"Physically I am well. Emotionally not great. Tony is fighting for his life and Mollie hates my guts. Both are breaking my heart." Gibbs explained.

"Tony will be just fine and Mollie will come around." McGee assured.

"Let's just get to work. I want to save my boy." Gibbs replied.

* * *

Mollie sat alone in the hospital's cafeteria. The main cafeteria had stopped cooking at seven. So the room was mostly dark. Having only the small area with the vending machines lit. Mollie sat alone in the back corner of the room. A soft light reflected off the table and she wished that it would go away. She wanted only darkness around her. Because that is what she felt. She wondered if she would ever be happy again. If she would ever see her dad alive again. She had no idea what she would do if she died.

"Mollie?" Ziva called.

"What? Is their news?" Mollie asked.

"Not yet but McGee and Gibbs just arrived to NCIS." Ziva replied.

"What if he dies or is permanently damaged? I mean he could have organ failure, severe neurological damage. He could be dependent on us for everything! And that could be a good outcome!" Mollie cried.

"Mollie I know you are scared and you have the right to be but your dad is strong. He has come back before. He is very stubborn and he is not going to go down without one hell of a fight." Ziva assured.

"If he needs care I will do it. My best friend when I was Lonnie's, mom was a nurse. I used to stay with them a lot and can take care of people. I was going to study it in college but my dad thought it was ridiculous. I can finish high school online or get my GED. Then I can take care of him." Mollie rambled.

"While I admire your devotion to your father. I cannot expect you to do that. If Tony needs care his insurance will cover a nurse. You can help but I will do any care when there is not a nurse and the other adults will help me." Ziva explained.

"What's going to happen to me if he dies or if he can't care for me?" Mollie asked.

"What do you mean?" Ziva asked.

"You aren't my mom and dad is my only real family. If he dies you have no obligation to me. I am not family. You are not my mother." Mollie explained.

"You're right. I am not your mother, a mother is the woman who carried a child in her womb, whose egg provided half of the child's DNA. That is the definition. I am however your mom." Ziva explained.

"What does that mean?" Mollie asked.

"I have loved your from the moment I met you. I know your hopes, your fears. I know your favorite color and your favorite foods. I know you got that scar on your forehead from running into the boat launch at the boardwalk when you were four. I know you are allergic to raisins and that you have to give everybody in the house a hug before you go to bed. I know and love you as much as I do Kelila. I love you so much that your dad and I were discussing getting married. Just so that I could adopt you and officially make you my own." Ziva explained.

"Really?" Mollie asked.

"I swear on my life." Ziva vowed.

* * *

Gibbs, McGee, and Abby were gathered into Abby's lab. They had gathered the leftover Fried Rice Tony had eaten for dinner and his coffee. McGee had grabbed the wrapper from one of the candy bars Tony kept in his desk. McGee and Gibbs had just delivered the suspect foods to Abby and were preparing to call Ziva and ask her what Tony had eaten at home. When McGee's phone began to ring. He quietly stepped away and answered.

"Hello?"

"Oh hi, Joyce."

"Wait, what?"

"OK, where are you taking her?"

"I don't know about the Twenty-Four Hour, Immediate Care. I mean if she was poisoned they may not diagnose until it's too late. It took two hours when I went in with that throat infection and they had to send me to the hospital."

"Well Georgetown is only twenty minutes from your place."

"No you don't need an ambulance unless she is seizing or coughing up blood."

"If the cops stop you just say your handicapped daughter has fallen ill and you are rushing her to the hospital."

"Well if that happens just call me and I will take care of it."

"Yes that is the only time I use my badge for my own gain."

"Alright well thanks for letting me know Joyce. Keep me posted. Bye"

* * *

"What's going on?" Gibbs asked.

"They are repairing the elevator in our building. So Delilah is staying with her mom. Delilah called me a while ago and asked where I was. I told her about Tony. Now Joyce called me. Delilah has been vomiting for the past hour, she is dizzy, and has a few other alarming symptoms. Joyce is rushing her to the hospital as we speak." McGee explained, voice cracking.

* * *

 **A/N: Was Delilah poisoned as well or is something else up? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	16. Turn For The Worst

Upon hearing his Junior Agent's update about his girlfriend. Gibbs walked away from Abby's computer and over towards the younger man. He placed his hands on McGee's shoulders, shook his head, and exhaled. He had an idea of what was happening with Delilah but he didn't want to say it. Knowing that it would make things about a hundred times worse if it turned out that Delilah had in fact been poisoned.

"If you want to go be with Delilah go. Abby and I can handle it from here and if we need help we can call in other agents." Gibbs offered.

"If Delilah was poisoned, I'd be more use to her here than at the hospital. Joyce said she would call if anything happened but Delilah was stable at the moment. For now I am just going to stay here." McGee explained.

"Alright" Gibbs replied.

* * *

Ziva sat up on one of the hospitals couches and thumbed through a magazine. Mollie was curled up in a ball beside her clutching Tony's shirt close to her chest. She looked down and at her daughter and her heart broke. Mollie was not her daughter by blood but she proudly counted Mollie as her daughter. That girl was so much like her father. Just like Tony Mollie had wormed her way into her heart just was quickly as Tony had. It wasn't the same way because the love she had for Tony was a very adult and romantic love. The love she felt for Mollie was the exact same she had for Kelila. The last thing in the world she wanted was for Tony to die but if he did she would gladly raise Mollie as her own. She would gladly hold onto any link she had to Tony. Especially if she lost her beloved Tony. She heard her phone ringing and being careful not to disturb Mollie. She reached into her pocket and picked it up. She saw that it was Gibbs and answered right away.

"Hello?"

"Has there been any change?"

"No"

"No news is good news I suppose."

"Have you found out what Tony was poisoned with yet?"

"No but Abby is testing his dinner, his coffee, and those candy energy bars that he eats."

"Hold on, Tony's doctor is wanting a word."

"Call me back if there's news."

"Of course"

* * *

Ziva hung up and carefully pulled herself out from under Mollie. The teen groaned and blinked her eyes open for a second but did not wake. Ziva knew by the look on Dr. Ramirez's face that she was not about to hear good news. She just prayed that she would not have to break tragic news to Mollie when she woke in the morning.

"I am sorry Mrs. David, but your boyfriend crashed. He was legally dead for three minutes. We were able to get his heart started but he cannot breathe on his own. He is on a ventilator and we are going to do a scan in the morning to check his brain function. I am sorry." Dr. Ramirez explained.

"Is he going to be OK? I mean is he showing any signs of life? I know he wouldn't want to be bound to machines." Ziva questioned.

"We won't anything until the scans. I am sorry." Dr. Ramirez apologized.

* * *

Dr. Ramirez left to return to his patients. Ziva turned and ran out of the hospital. She did not want to cry in front of Mollie. She did not want to have to tell Mollie about Tony. She had barely wanted to hear the news. She fell onto a grassy area between two buildings and grabbed her phone. Her hands shook as she dialed Gibbs' number.

"Tony died!"

"WHAT?!"

"Tony was legally dead. They got his heart beating again but he isn't breathing. They are going to test his brain function in the morning. Oh Gibbs I can't pull the plug on him and I really can't break the news to Mollie or Kelila."

"You won't have to Ziver. We may not get the same Tony back but he is strong. He will beat the odds and we will love him no matter what."

"I know"

"Try and get some rest. I will call if we find something."

"OK, bye"

* * *

Gibbs fell back onto the couch in Abby's lab. The news that Ziva had just given him was anything but good. They still hadn't found out what poison had been used on Tony and they could not really treat him or even really ease his pain until they knew what they were working with. Tony's future was hanging in the balance. Hanging directly in front of him, mocking him, and he could do nothing to change it. He kicked the air, his leg swung back and hit the bottom edge of the couch. A feeling of pain rushed up his leg and through his body and then passed just as quickly. He heard a soft thump as a thin piece of plastic hit the floor. At first he thought it was a pen but then he took a closer look. It was a needle. He reached down and picked it up. Abby was a diabetic or any other medical problems that would require her to inject herself, not did she use drugs. If Abby was the last person before Tony and Joanne to be down here. That meant that this had to be the needle Joanne had used to poison Tony. He tried to stand but his legs were still violently shaking.

"Abby! McGee! I found a needle!" Gibbs cried.

"Do you think it's what Joanne used?" Abby asked.

"I hope so." Gibbs replied.

"Well I will test this right away and then the doctors can save Tony!" Abby cried.

* * *

McGee followed Abby back into the main part of her lab. She dropped the needle into the machine and then disappeared to grab another Caf-Pow. Normally he would lecture her about drinking caffeine this late at night but tonight all that mattered was finding out what was in the needle. It was the only way to save Tony's life and quite possibly Delilah's. His phone rang and he stepped back into Abby's office area to answer it. His heart dropped when he saw that it was Joyce calling. He prayed that all was well with Delilah or that he would at very least have a moment to say goodbye.

"Hello?"

"Oh Delilah. How are you feeling?"

"No kidding?"

"That is amazing."

"Oh Delilah I am so relieved and excited."

"No I get that I won't tell anyone outside of my family just yet but I am sure that everything is going to be just fine."

* * *

 **A/N: The good news is that Delilah wasn't poisoned. The bad is that Tony has taken a serious downturn. Will the poison be discovered in time or is it already too late? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	17. Last Ditch Efforts

Abby was testing the needle and McGee had gone home to Delilah, Gibbs wandered over to the elevator. He let it move up to between the floors and then grabbed the emergency lever. He slid down to the floor and buried his head in his hands. He hated how helpless he felt right now. Tony was dying in the hospital and even when they found out what the hell was killing him. Gibbs could do nothing to help him. It was all in the doctors hands and even they may end up falling short. Back at the hospital Ziva and Mollie were falling apart, fearing a future without their beloved Tony. He knew that he needed to get home to Lana. She had been even more traumatized by Joanne than he had but he just couldn't leave. He didn't want to go home. He didn't want to go back to the real world. He just wanted to hide until Tony was well again. He just sat there and cried until Abby called him.

"Hello?"

"Gibbs, I have the results."

"And?"

"Just come here."

"Yeah I'll be right there."

* * *

Ziva stood outside the hospital and watched the sun take an eternity to rise. Even when the sun rose it would still be hours before she could be with her Tony again. It had been a terrible night for Tony. His heart had only stopped the one time but he could not breathe on his own and his heart rate kept plummeting. He was averaging three seizures an hour and they were having to suction blood out of his airway. The doctors weren't giving her much hope, that he would come back to her but she was refusing to give up hope. Tony was not one to just give up. He would fight with all he had to come back to them. She just knew it.

"Have you heard anything?" Mollie asked, stepping outside.

"Not yet but he's been having a rough time." Ziva sighed.

* * *

Gibbs braced himself for bad news as he made his way into Abby's lab. He knew from the tone of her voice that the news was anything but good. He found Abby pacing around the floor, her arms folded behind her back, and her head down.

"Whatcha got for me Abbs?" Gibbs asked.

"Oh Gibbs! This is bad! Really, really! Very bad!" Abby cried.

"What's wrong?" Gibbs asked.

"According to my tests it's ethyzene glycol." Abby replied.

"What?" Gibbs questioned.

"Antifreeze, she poisoned him with antifreeze." Abby replied.

"But that would show up in the blood." Gibbs replied.

"It should but something about this is weird. It's not right. It said ethyzene glycol but then it was inconclusive. I have put out word to every forensic specialist I can think of but even if they can help. They need a sample and I only have the needle. The best we can do is have the hospital treat him for antifreeze poisoning and pray to God that it works." Abby explained.

"And if it doesn't?" Gibbs asked.

"Then we are going to have to majorly come together as a family for Tony's girls." Abby explained.

"I am going to call Bethesda." Gibbs replied, swallowing hard.

* * *

Mollie sipped the burned coffee a nurse had brought her. She had managed to get a few hours sleep but it was nothing significant and she somehow felt more exhausted than she had when she had finally fallen asleep on the couch. There was still no news on her dad, at least not any good news. His heart had stopped not long after she had fallen asleep and he had been failing ever since. About ten minutes ago, Ziva had been called back by Tony's doctor. They had finally found the cause of the poisoning. At long last the doors opened and Ziva came walking back into the waiting room.

"Mollie?" Ziva called.

"What is it?" Mollie asked.

"Antifreeze" Ziva sighed.

"Antifreeze?! That's really bad! But they can find it! Why didn't they find it?!" Mollie cried.

"That is what Abby is trying to figure out. For now they are just treating him for antifreeze poisoning but it's going to be very touch and go for a long time." Ziva explained.

"How much longer until we can see him?" Mollie asked.

"Two more hours, at eight o'clock." Ziva replied.

"What am I supposed to do in the meantime?!" Mollie cried.

"I am going to go check on Kelila. Would you like to join me?" Ziva asked.

"I guess" Mollie sighed.

* * *

Up in the ICU doctors were swarming in and out of Tony's room. They now knew the poison and they had already began the treatment process but Tony was rapidly deteriorating. Blood was being drawn and some of his hair had been plucked. They were desperate to determine why the antifreeze had not shown up in his blood. Desperately trying to determine if he could be saved or if it was too late. All the while Tony lay in a coma. Maybe he was aware of everything that was happening around him but maybe he wasn't that was not important right now. All that mattered at the moment was saving his life and bringing him back to his family. Dr. Ramirez had gone off duty but Dr. Pitt had come in, being Tony's trusted friend and having managed to bring Tony through the plague nearly unscathed. He was the best choice to save his life. Dr. Pitt stood in front of Tony's bed and studied the chart, he scratched his head, and took another look. He shut the clip-board and ran his hands through his hair. This was anything but good news.

"What's wrong, Brad?" Emma asked.

"Tony's kidneys have completely shut down. We need to get him started on dialysis right away. Go inform Ziva for me." Dr. Pitt explained.

* * *

 **A/N: Gibbs is going to need to have a serious talk with Tony. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	18. Losing Hope

Ziva checked her watch and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Only one more hour before she could see Tony. She noticed Mollie studying her phone and knew that the teen was thinking the same thing. It had been a long night of waiting. Especially considering how sick Tony had been. At this point all she could do was breathe a sigh of relief that he had lived through the night. Just one more hour and they could see him. She was even thinking of having The Fornells bring Kelila over to see him. The doors separating the waiting room from the main hospital swung open, Ziva shot her head up and was surprised to see Dr. Pitt rushing towards where she sat.

"Brad, what's going on?" Ziva asked.

"I am sorry Ziva but Tony's kidneys have completely shut down. He is being hooked up to a dialysis machine as we speak. We are going to try to keep him going but his kidneys have completely shut-down and he is growing weaker by the second." Dr. Pitt explained.

"What can I do?" Ziva asked.

"Right now is bring everybody to the hospital and say anything that you want said. Because I honestly don't see him coming out of this. If he does he probably won't be the man you fell in love with anymore. I am sorry." Dr. Pitt apologized.

"I will start making calls." Ziva replied.

* * *

Mollie was only half paying attention to the conversation that Ziva was having with Dr. Pitt. Jude, Emily, and Lana had all texted her asking her how Tony was. She looked up in time to see Ziva's shoulders fall and she heard her make a small weeping noise. She stood up and rushed over to the older woman's side. Just as she fell hard upon her knees.

"What's going on?" Mollie asked.

"Tony's kidneys have shut down. He is on dialysis but they don't know. I am going to call Fornell and have her bring Kelila and call everybody else to come." Ziva explained.

"Why are you calling everyone?" Mollie asked, not wanting go believe what she had just heard.

"Because they don't think that he is going to make it." Ziva explained.

"You said that he would be OK!" Mollie snapped, turning and running out of the hospital.

* * *

Ziva's heart dropped as she watched Mollie run away. She knew that the best thing right now would be to just let her run. She had a lot that she needed to work through. Her whole world may be about to fall apart again. A fact that was somehow even worse than the idea of losing Tony forever.

* * *

Gibbs pulled into the parking lot of Bethesda Naval Hospital. He had come home just long enough to check on Lana and ended up falling asleep. It had only been for an hour but it was still far too long. He needed to get to his boy. He jumped out of his car and raced towards the hospital. He saw Mollie standing over on the side walk but when he tried to approach her she shot daggers at him. It was clear that she was still pissed at him. He couldn't let it get him down, he had to get to Tony. There would be time to make amends when things were back to normal. If they ever got back to normal that is.

"Gibbs?" Ziva called.

"Yeah it's me. What's going?" Gibbs asked.

"I was just going to call you." Ziva replied.

"What?" Gibbs questioned.

"Tony went into kidney failure. Even Dr. Pitt doesn't think that he can save him." Ziva sniffed.

"Ziver" Gibbs gasped.

"He is so sick! It's destroy Mollie and I don't know what to do." Ziva sobbed.

* * *

Gibbs offered Ziva a quick hug and then took off running down the hall. There was no way in hell he was going to let his boy die. He could not let his family go through a loss of that magnitude. He could not let himself go through a loss of that magnitude. He quickly found Tony's area in the ICU. It was a small cubicle almost directly across from the nurse's station. It was where they put the most critical of even the ICU patients. Tony lay under a mass of machines, tubes, and wires. The small amount of skin that was visible was pale and sickly. If he was being perfectly honest Tony looked like he was already dead. Gibbs got as close to the younger man's bed as he could. He put his hand on Tony's arm and looked down at his face.

"Alright DiNozzo, I think you know our agreement. You are absolutely forbidden to die. Because as much as this is hurting you. It is going to be ten times worse for your girls if you die. I know that the doctor's aren't to optimistic right now but Abby, McGee, and your doctor''s are working tirelessly to save your ass. So I strongly suggest you fight so their efforts are not in vain. Then I want you to do everything the doctors tell you. No matter how difficult they are for you. Because those girls out there need you. I need you. Do you understand? Good now get some rest. The others will be by shortly and I will be seeing you soon." Gibbs rambled.

* * *

Abby sucked out the last bit of liquid from her cup and then tossed it aside into the ever growing pile. She had lost count of how many cups of Caf-Pow she had drank since the previous night but even she knew that it had been too many, but she needed to help Tony. She needed to save him. For herself and the rest of his family. Especially Gibbs, Ziva, Mollie, and Kelila. Simultaneously the door to her lab slid open, McGee was bringing two fresh Caf-Pow's for the two of them, and her computer dinged. She rushed over to the computer and studied the screen. What she saw caused her knees to go weak and her heart to feel as if it was going to beat out of her chest.

"Timmy!" Abby cried.

"What's going on, Abbs?" McGee asked.

"Th...this" Abby stammered.

"I'm calling the hospital!" McGee cried.

* * *

 **A/N: What did Abby and McGee find. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	19. Answers, Just Not Good Ones

Back at the hospital Dr. Pitt was leading a team of doctors in the frantic search for the cause of Tony's ailment. They had tested his blood three times and each time it came out clear. They were treating him for antifreeze poisoning but his condition was only growing more dire. At this point nurses was constantly going in and out of his room checking his vitals. Each time he was checked his condition had grown worse. The doctors had decided that if his condition did not turn around in the next twelve hours or if an answer was not found in that time. They would advise Ziva to take him off of life-support and let nature take it's course. Dr. Pitt's phone began to ring. He grabbed it and stepped outside.

"Hello Dr. Pitt?"

"McGee? Do you have something for me?"

"Abby and I found the source of Tony's poisoning."

"Yeah it was antifreeze."

"It was antifreeze but it was laced with Zerinomoxide."

"Holy shit. I have heard of that but I've never treated it."

"It's almost one hundred percent fatal. Thus far the only patients who have survived are severely impaired."

* * *

There was finally an answer for Tony's illness. Unfortunately it was not a good one. Zerinomoxide was a new and terrifying new biological weapon. It would mask any poison it was combined with, making all blood results come out completely clear. It would settle in the kidneys first and then it would spread throughout the body. After the kidneys shut down. It would cause hemorrhaging on the brain. In most cases by the time the bleed was discovered. It was too late and the patient would perish from a combination of blood loss and total organ failure. Those who lived were severely impaired with brain damage and paralysis. Thus far Tony had not shown any signs of bleeding on the brain. If they acted now then maybe Tony could be one of the lucky ones. After hanging up with McGee and composing himself, Dr. Pitt rushed back into the conference room.

"What is it, Brad?" Dr. Jenkins asked.

"We need to get Tony and MRI right away." Dr. Pitt replied.

"Why?" Dr. Monroe asked.

"McGee just called me. They tested the needle again. This time they found Zerinomoxide." Dr. Pitt replied.

"Good Lord!" Dr. Monroe called.

"He should be dead by now." Dr. Jenkins gasped.

"He should you guys get him to the back and make sure the room is ready. I am going to go notify the family." Dr. Pitt called.

* * *

Ziva watched as Mollie walked back through the double doors. She shuffled back over towards her family and collapsed onto the couch. She buried her head in Ziva's side and began to heavily sob. Ziva reached down and patted her shoulders.

"How is he?" Ziva asked.

"He's so sick. They kicked him out to take him for more tests." Mollie explained.

"Oh Mollie" Ziva whispered.

"He better not die. He does not have permission." Gibbs growled.

"Oh like that will help! Like some direct order will save his life!" Mollie snapped.

"Mollie Taylor DiNozzo! Enough is enough! I know that you are sad but that is no excuse to be so cruel to Gibbs. He is just as upset as you are and if we lose Tony. We are going to need to lean on each other. Not be fighting." Ziva snapped.

"I am sorry." Mollie sniffed.

"It's OK. You are just scared." Gibbs replied.

"Ziva?" Dr. Pitt called.

"What now?" Ziva asked.

"We found the source of Tony's crisis." Dr. Pitt replied.

"What is it?" Ziva asked.

"Zerinomoxide" Dr. Pitt gasped.

"Oh My God!" Ziva gasped.

"No!" Gibbs cried.

"What's that? What's going on?" Mollie asked.

"Mollie, Zerinomoxide is a aggressive and often lethal poison. It is rarely caught before the patient's death and in the few cases where the patients were saved. They had no real quality of life." Ziva explained.

"But you can save him right? I mean you saved him when he had the plague. This should a breeze. Right?!" Mollie cried.

"I will try my best but Mollie, this is almost impossible to treat." Dr. Pitt explained.

* * *

McGee swung into the nearest parking space. He looked over at the passenger seat and saw Abby clutching her Rosary. He had challenged Gibbs' driving on the way to the hospital. Normally Abby would be screaming for him to slow down but today. The only thing stopping her from arguing the dangers of speeding. Was how desperately she needed to get to Tony. Because neither knew how much time they had left with him. They were not even sure if he was still with them or if he had died before treatment could begin.

"I am not ready for this." Abby sniffed.

"Neither am I but this may be our last chance." McGee reminded.

"I know" Abby sniffed.

* * *

Dr. Harper, the on call neurologist studied the image of Tony's brain on the screen. He was as in shock as Tony's family and the other doctors. Bethesda was one of the country's top military hospitals but even they had never handled a case of Zerinomoxide poisoning. Walter Reed had, had one patient. A Petty Officer just returned from deployment. He was one of the three who had lived but he was completely paralyzed and had the mental capacities of a three month old child. Tony's case had been caught much sooner than any of the survivors but he had been in kidney failure for hours and he had suffered seizures all through the night. He was far from out of the woods and unfortunately the scans showed the worst possible news.

"What's going on Jack?" Dr. Pitt asked.

"There is definite swelling and bleeding. We need to operate right away." Dr. Harper replied.

* * *

 **A/N: Just and FYI to my knowledge Zerinomoxide is not a real toxin. Just made up for the sake of fiction. Anyway just how much damage has been done? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	20. Small Steps Forward

Ziva shoved herself through the door to the hospital's cafeteria. She grabbed a burger and small salad for herself. After paying for her food she took two mustard packets, a mayo, and a ketchup packet and a cup of ranch dressing from the condiment station. Normally she would never eat this way but she was just so freaked out. She was still in shock over how sick Tony was. She could not believe that he was fighting a deadly poison. He had already fought the plague and barely came through that. Now he was dealing with this horrible poison. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. She took two bites of her burger and her stomach could take no more. She put her trash on her tray and then shoved it into the nearest trashcan. She pushed back out into the waiting room where her family was waiting for her.

"I thought you were getting lunch." Mollie commented.

"I couldn't eat." Ziva replied.

"You need to eat, Ziver." Gibbs reminded.

"My stomach is too nervous to eat right now." Ziva replied.

"Alright but at least keep your fluids up." Gibbs replied handing her a bottle of water.

"How much longer is this surgery going to take?" Mollie asked.

"It's going to be a while. It is a very delicate surgery." Gibbs replied.

"I just want to know that he is going to be OK." Mollie whispered.

* * *

Tony's surgery lasted for a gut wrenching three hours. During that time the doctor's drilled a hole in his skull to relieve the pressure. They managed to stop the bleed completely but he would have to be very closely monitored for the next few days. After the operation had been completed the doctors made the decision to place him in a drug induced coma. The ventilator was working at ninety percent. He was doing better but he still had a long way to go. The next step was to flush the poisons from his system and get him stable enough for a kidney transplant. His kidneys had died and he needed that transplant as soon as possible. That was what Dr. Pitt had gone to discuss with the family.

"So as you know Tony came through his crainotomy as well as to be expected. We are greatly relieved that we did not have to preform a craniectomy. That is a much longer and more complicated recovery process. Unfortunately if the pressure returns this may end up being our only option." Dr. Pitt explained.

"If the surgery went well and we knew that. Than what are you talking with us about?" Mollie asked.

"Now that he is hopefully on the road to recovery. We need to discuss his kidney transplant. It will need to be done as soon as possible." Dr. Pitt explained.

"I thought he was going on the waiting list." Mollie commented.

"He is but unfortunately a cadaver kidney would likely come too late. Even if Tony were at top of the list. The best thing would be a donor kidney from a living person." Dr. Pitt explained.

"I will get tested." Ziva replied.

"Me too" Gibbs added.

"Same here." McGee replied.

"I would but I know that I am not a match. I know Tony's blood-type and unfortunately we are not the same." Abby explained.

"Isn't family the best bet?" Mollie asked.

"You are correct." Dr. Pitt replied.

"I want to get tested too." Mollie replied.

"We don't typically take donor kidney's from minors and when we do you need the approval of a parent or guardian." Dr. Pitt explained.

"OK well since Ziva would be my guardian if my dad died. She can approve me to donate the kidney and I can save him." Mollie replied.

"Mollie that is so risky. Your dad is still alive and I don't think he would approve." Ziva commented.

"I don't care! I have to help him!" Mollie cried.

"If you are that passionate I will think about it." Ziva replied.

"I am not sure if I can approve this. I will have to bring it before our ethics comity." Dr. Pitt explained.

"We may not have time for that!" Mollie cried.

"I will get the meeting arranged as soon as possible. It is going to be a while before Tony is well enough for the procedure anyway." Dr. Pitt explained.

"Just save him!" Mollie cried falling down onto the couch.

* * *

McGee stood outside of Tony's cubicle, his hand rested on the wall. For a long time he just watched his friend sleep. Tony looked horrible worse than McGee had ever seen him even when he had the plague. The most terrifying part of this was hearing and knowing that Tony actually looked a hell of a lot better than he had just a few hours ago. Tony's head was bandaged and his skin was just a degree darker than the pure white bandage. He had tubes and wires coming out of what seemed to be every inch of his body. A body that had never seemed small to McGee. Tony was only half an inch taller than him but he had always seemed like a giant. Sometimes more intimidating than even Gibbs. Yet right now he lay in a hospital bed, looking so small and frail. The tiny and fragile life growing inside of Delilah that barely the size of a bean seemed strong large and strong compared to Tony right now. That baby was why McGee needed Tony here. Tim wasn't the most athletic man in the world and his dad had been gone for a year and a half now. Penelope was one to break gender barriers but she was slowing down and McGee didn't know if she could throw or kick a ball by the time the baby was ready. Sarah was athletic but she was mulling taking a job in Georgia. Delilah could teach him to throw a ball but she couldn't teach him to kick and she hated basketball. This kid needed Tony to teach it how to play sports and a few other things. Finally McGee knew that if he waited anymore. He would not have time to see his friend.

"Alright Tony. You are going to wake up. Do you understand? You are going to wake up. Because I need you too. I am really not supposed to tell anyone but I think Delilah would be OK with me making an exception for you. Tony, Delilah is pregnant. Our first baby. We never planned on kids even before but now that it's happening. It's so amazing. Tony I need you to wake up and recover so you can teach it how to play sports and teach it to call me McDaddy. I can see us getting our kids in prank wars but for this to happen you have to recover." McGee pleaded.

* * *

 **A/N: Maybe Tony will listen to McGee's plea. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	21. Slowly Coming Around

Though his remained critical, Tony's condition continued to improve throughout the night on Sunday. It could take up to seventy-two hours for the poison to work it's way out of Tony's body but the doctors were now cautiously optimistic that he would survive the poisoning and then the next step was the kidney transplant. Tony was spending twenty-three hours a day hooked up to the dialysis machine and that's how he would live until a donor was found. Even with dialysis there was no guarantee that Tony would survive long enough to have the transplant. If he had the transplant it would still be a long way to go before he could survive. Even though things had greatly improved. The DiNozzo family still had a long and difficult road ahead of them. For now Tony was the same and would likely remain the same until the poison had been completely flushed from his system. While Tony remained critical but stable. There was another major fight going on within the DiNozzo family Monday morning.

"I am not going! You cannot make me go!" Mollie snapped.

"Mollie Taylor DiNozzo, I am your guardian until your father is well and what I say goes, and I say that you are going to school." Ziva insisted.

"How can you make me go?! He is still critical!" Mollie snapped.

"He is critical but he is no longer on the brink of death." Ziva remained.

"What if he takes a bad turn?" Mollie asked.

"Then I will come and get you." Ziva replied.

"What if I get here too late!" Mollie demanded.

"Mollie you will get here in time." Ziva assured.

"But what if I don't?!" Mollie demanded.

"Mollie I know this hard but your dad would want things to be normal." Ziva replied.

"My life has never been normal! I got like five minutes of normalcy and now it could all be over. Why does nobody care!" Mollie snapped.

"Mollie I do care. I care more than you know but you need to take a deep breath and know that I really am trying my best." Ziva reminded.

"I know you are but I don't want Tony to die." Mollie sniffed.

"He won't die. He is going to remain the same and you will be able to see him as soon as you get home from school. Today is going to be so long, boring and stressful." Ziva explained.

"School is going to be stressful." Mollie argued.

"Yes but it will also be a distraction. A distraction that you desperately need." Ziva replied.

"And you will call me if there is any change?" Mollie asked.

"Of course." Ziva replied.

"I will go but you have to call me." Mollie insisted.

"I will call you and I will send Gibbs to get you." Ziva replied, kissing Mollie on the forehead.

* * *

By lunchtime Ziva was wishing that she had let Mollie stay home. Not because Tony's condition had taken another down turn but because she wanted one of her daughters to distract her. Kelila was far too young to be permitted into the ICU and she was also much to small to be expected to behave in a hospital waiting room. She thought about going to get Mollie but the last thing she wanted was to scare her daughter, by making her think that something terrible had happened. It was a quarter til noon and Ziva was enjoying one of the rare moments she got with Tony. Though he had improved, he was still limited to only fifteen minute long visits every two hours. Ziva looked at Tony. He looked a lot better than the day before. He still looked terrible but he also looked almost human. He had come so far but he still had so far to go.

"Alright Tony, I only have fifteen minutes. Then I am going to let Mollie take the next visit. So I need you to listen to me. You have fifty one hours to go before the poison is out of your body. I need you to keep fighting. I don't care if you aren't the same. I don't care if I have to take care of you. Gibbs said we could live with him if need be. So don't worry about that. Just survive. Kelila needs to get to know her Abba and Mollie needs normalcy and happiness. Please Tony. I love you so much. I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. If we can keep being our perfect but unconventional little family and maybe add a new DiNozzo or two to the world great. But if you are impaired and nothing is the same or normal. That is great too. I don't care what you are like. I just want you and know that Mollie feels the same way. I love you." Ziva sobbed.

* * *

Tony was hovering somewhere between life and death. He knew it wasn't purgatory because he wasn't dead or dying. At least he didn't think he was, he certainly did not want to be. He did not want to die. Not now, not just after getting his girls back. He was finally happy. The only thing he could remember was lying in Abby's lab. He felt a terrible stabbing pain in his neck and then blackness. Now here he was. He had heard Gibbs and McGee cry, both were pleading for him to survive. He had tried to come back but he just couldn't. Then he heard Ziva begging him to survive. He loved her so much and he loved his girls too. He wanted to be a family with them. He really did. He just had to fight through whatever the hell was happening with him and survive. He felt Ziva take his hand and that's when something clicked inside of him and he squeezed Ziva's hand. She gasped, his eyes blinked open and his mouth moved.

"Zi...i...fvvaaa luufvvee youuuuuu." Tony stammered. It was barely audible and Ziva was probably the only person who understood it but he had done it. Tony had spoken.

* * *

 **A/N: It looks like Tony is finally turning around. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**

* * *

 **A/N 2: I accidentally uploaded this chapter as chapter 15 of "Even Forever Ends Eventually" if you have an alert for a new chapter for that story. That is why.**


	22. Healed

Tony continued to improve over the next few days. The color was slowly returning to his face and oxygen was now merely to keep him comfortable and to take some stress off of his body. Since speaking with Ziva on Monday morning. He had grasped Mollie's hand twice and made several voluntary movements over the next few days. He was now responding to light and sound and other stimuli. Most importantly the swelling in his brain had gone down and the bleeding had stopped. He had one very tiny seizure on Monday night but nothing major enough to raise alarm in the doctors. His fever had finally broken and he was finally seeming to be Tony again. On Thursday morning during rounds, the doctors declared that Tony the poison was finally completely out of his system and that he had recovered enough to be brought out of the coma and that they could start looking for a kidney donor for him. Ziva rushed to get Mollie from school. Who was presently staying with her sister at the Fornell's house. As soon as she heard the news. The receptionist called for Mollie, just as second period was dismissing.

"What's going on?" Mollie asked, as Ziva closed the door to the small office behind her.

"I have wonderful news for you." Ziva replied.

"What?" Mollie asked.

"They are bringing your dad out of the coma this afternoon." Ziva replied.

"Because he is well or so that he can die?" Mollie questioned recalling a talk Ziva had, had with her a few days prior.

"Because he is recovering and they think he will be better off awake now. Even better news they are going to start testing potential donors. If all goes well he could have a kidney by Friday." Ziva explained.

"Did they approve me being tested?" Mollie asked.

"No honey I am sorry. You have to be twenty one and since you are so petite and Tony is a large male. They don't think that your kidney would be enough to support his body. Don't worry me, McGee, Gibbs, and a bunch of other people are getting tested." Ziva explained.

"What if none of you match?" Mollie asked.

"They will put him on the national registry and given the severity of his condition he will likely be near the top of the list." Ziva explained.

"Well what if they don't find a donor in time! What if he survives all this shit and then he dies because we couldn't get him a fucking kidney in time!" Mollie cried.

"Mollie listen to me, we are going to find somebody. You just have to have faith." Ziva assured.

"I spend sixteen years with that bastard and he is still alive and kicking but I only get eight months with Tony over my entire life and he may die. How the hell is that fair!?" Mollie cried.

"It isn't but your dad is going to be just fine. He has made it this far. He will get a kidney in time and come back to us before long at all." Ziva assured.

"Are you sure?" Mollie asked.

"I know it." Ziva assured.

* * *

The doctors began the process of bringing Tony out of his coma at twelve thirty in the afternoon. They warned that it may take up to twenty-four hours for him to be fully awake but he would have moments of consciousness during that time. They also reminded everybody that he was highly likely to have brain damage and/or paralysis, and that they needed to be prepared for the worst. Ziva and the others were trying to remain positive however. Because he had moved his arms several times over the past couple days and he had spoken to her a few days before. She was praying that she was right and that she would get her Tony back but she would love him no matter what.

"They started bringing Tony around an hour ago." Ziva said as Gibbs sat down beside her.

"Have you seen him yet?" Gibbs asked.

"I just got back actually." Ziva replied.

"How is he doing?" Gibbs asked.

"He looks great." Ziva replied.

"He showing any signs of waking up?" Gibbs asked.

"No but the doctors said that it could take a while." Ziva explained.

"I can't wait to see him again." Gibbs commented.

"Me too and Mollie is especially anxious. Best of all as long as he stays stable with the kidneys. They are going to transfer him to a regular room tomorrow and that means that Kelila can see him. Unless of course his condition is in a way that may frighten her." Ziva explained.

"That will be great for both of them." Gibbs replied.

* * *

Once again Tony had defied doctors expectations. Because at three o'clock in the afternoon he was declared stable enough to be transferred to a regular hospital room. He was now allowed longer visits and more visitors were permitted to be with him at a time. He was not quite awake yet but his vitals were strong and he had woken up several times over the past few hours. Each time just for a few seconds but he was still awake longer each time. Tony was situated in his new room by four thirty and his entire family had gathered around to be with him. Gibbs, McGee, and Ziva had all been tested to determine if they would be able to give Tony one of their kidneys and the results would be in at anytime. Now they just had to wait for Tony to wake up. At five o'clock in the afternoon Tony's hand moved and his eyes flickered open. At first he just blinked quickly and everybody assumed that it was just another false alarm. Then Tony's eyes opened again and this time they remained open. First for fifteen seconds, then thirty, and then for a full minute. After his eyes were opened for a full minute he wiggled his hands and then his feet. He then did a combination of a sigh of relief and a joyous laugh. A collective sigh of relief swept across the room. As everybody saw that their friend, boyfriend, and father was seemingly unaffected by the poisoning. Suddenly a blood curdling scream interrupted the celebration. Everybody whipped around and saw Tony sitting on the bed a look of pure horror on his face.

"Tony? Are you alright?" Gibbs asked.

"Where the hell is my hair!" Tony cried, frantically patting at his head.

* * *

 **A/N: Poor Tony but at least he's alive and so far undamaged. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	23. Mixed Emotions

After spending the past week in a fog, hovering between life and death. A little too much of that time being too close to the death side. Tony could finally feel himself coming around. The hospital room finally seemed to have the closeness of him simply being in a deep sleep, as opposed to seemingly being on a different planet. Slowly he got closer and closer to his family. At first the room was a bright white haze and he briefly wondered if he had died instead. Then he could vaguely make out machines, his bed, and best of all his family. Then at long last everything was crystal clear but his excitement was short lived. He was waking up in a hospital bed after being close to death. Which meant that he may not be OK. He thought he was aware but he had no idea until he could answer the doctors questions. At least he could test the ability to move his limbs. He wiggled his fingers and hands and to his relief everything moved on command. He shrugged his shoulders and breathed a sigh of relief. At least he could use his arms. That was better than nothing. He then wiggled his toes and legs. They didn't move as responsively as the arms but at least they could move and he had good feeling in all limbs. He couldn't help but smile as his family and friends breathed a strong sigh of relief. He looked up and smiled at them, and that was when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror across from his bed. His face looked OK paler than usual and even though it had only been days he appeared to gaunt and frail. Then he saw a horrible sight. A big white bandage was wrapped around his head. He reached up and patted the bandage and that's when the horror began. He did not feel hair underneath the bandage and the open area was smooth as a cue ball.

"Agghhhh!" Tony screamed.

"Tony? Are you alright?" Gibbs asked.

"Where the hell is my hair!" Tony cried, frantically patting at his head.

* * *

Gibbs and Ziva shared concerned glances. They knew that this was coming, Tony would be beyond freaked out when he woke and discovered that his hair was gone. For that reason they had hoped that Tony would remain comatose for a few more weeks. Ideally giving time for the hair to at least begin to regrow. They were relieved that Tony was back but now they had to answer the difficult questions and of course since it was Tony the first question was about his hair.

"Tony you were really, really sick. We almost lost you." Ziva started.

"What happened to me? Why am I bald? What are all these machines?" Tony questioned.

"Tony you were poisoned with antifreeze and Zerinomoxide." Gibbs explained.

"Zerinomoxide? And I lived!" Tony cried.

"Barely" Mollie whispered.

"We came so close to losing you. They told us that we were going to lose you. You had near constant seizures for three days, your kidneys died. You are on dialysis. Then your brain swelled up and hemorrhaged. The bleed and swelling were so severe that the doctor had no choice but to drill a hole in your skull and make another incision to open up your skull and stop the bleed. To do that they had no choice but to shave your head." Mollie explained.

"They really had to shave my head? All of it!" Tony groaned.

"Yes! They had to! Gee I am sorry that saving your life was more important than your hair! If you are ever at death's door again I will be sure to tell them to let you die as opposed to shaving your head or any other vanity procedure!" Mollie cried, storming out of the room.

"What's wrong with her?" Tony asked.

"What's wrong with her is that she spent the past five days pacing around the hospital begging you to survive. Then you wake up and tell her that you care more about your hair than your life." Gibbs explained harshly.

"No it's not like that. This is just a shock." Tony explained.

"Great now tell her that." Gibbs ordered.

* * *

The guilt was weighing heavily on Tony's heart. He was upset about his hair but it would grow back or at least he hoped that it would. Even if it didn't, his reaction had been so stupid. He didn't say anything about how glad he was to be alive and well. He just worried about his appearance. Now Mollie was furious with him and rightfully so. He wanted only to apologize to her but he did not have the strength to get out of bed. He couldn't even leave in a wheelchair until the doctor came in and gave him an official evaluation. Twenty minutes later a tall woman with shoulder length hair came into his room.

"Good afternoon, Mr. DiNozzo. I am Dr. Monroe. Your main physician is off today." Dr. Monroe introduced.

"Nice to meet you Dr. Monroe." Tony replied.

"Alright now your boss said that you could move your arms and legs? Can you demonstrate that for me?" Dr. Monroe asked.

"Yeah here you go." Tony replied shaking his limbs.

"Excellent. Now can you tell me your full name and date of birth?" Dr. Monroe asked.

"Anthony Dimitri DiNozzo Junior, July 6th 1971. I was due on the fourth but came two days late." Tony explained.

"Very good, now who is the current president of the United States?" Dr. Monroe asked.

"Barrack Obama" Tony replied.

"Excellent, now what is the name of your girlfriend and her date of birth?" Dr. Monroe asked.

"Ziva Eliza David, November 4th 1979." Tony replied.

"Excellent and both of your daughters?" Dr. Monroe asked.

"Mollie Taylor DiNozzo, February 14th 1999 and Kelila Jennifer David-DiNozzo April 23rd 2014." Tony replied.

"Very good and today's date?" Dr. Monroe asked.

"April 17th 2016" Tony replied.

"Perfect! We need to run a few more tests but you are doing much better than we ever imagined! You are going to need a kidney transplant but you will be able to begin Physical Therapy very soon and you will be back to your family before you know it." Dr. Monroe explained.

* * *

While Tony was having his examination the others sat around in the waiting room. McGee, Gibbs, and Ziva were still waiting on their blood tests. Jimmy was standing in the corner talking Mollie down. It was Ziva's cellphone that rang first. She jumped up and answered as quickly as possible.

"Hello?"

"This is she."

"Are you sure?

"Yes"

"Of course"

"Dr. Heller?"

"Yes I will be there first thing in the morning."

"Thank you"

"Are you a match for Tony?" McGee asked excitedly.

"Unfortunately I am not." Ziva replied.

"Then why are you seeing a doctor first thing in the morning?" McGee asked.

"Because the blood test showed that I am pregnant." Ziva replied, voice shaking.

* * *

 **A/N: Now it's really good that Tony decided to pull through. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	24. Even More Mixed Emotions

Ziva had so many mixed emotions after hearing the doctor's news. On one hand she was thrilled to be having another baby. She knew that Mollie would be thrilled and Kelila would be excited too but most importantly it would give Tony that boost he needed to fight. On the other hand Tony was still far from out of the woods. He still needed a kidney and fast. She was terrified by the idea of Tony dying and leaving her with three kids to raise on her own. She could already barely bear the thought of losing Tony but it was even worse now that she knew she was pregnant. Her early stage of pregnancy was already terrifying. Tony and her had always been so careful until like three weeks ago. The girls were asleep but both adults were restless. One thing led to another and they thew caution to the wind. She was so early on and there was so much risk. Tony was so sick. It was all just so overwhelming. She wanted to be happy. She really did but the fear won and she ended up breaking down right there in the waiting room.

"Ziver! What's wrong?" Gibbs cried.

"Everything! Tony is so sick and this pregnancy is so early. I am so scared. What if I lose Tony? What if I lose the baby? What if I lose both?!" Ziva cried.

"Ziver listen to me. You are going to be fine, the baby is going to be fine, and Tony is going to be just fine." Gibbs assured.

"How can you be so sure about Tony? He still needs that kidney. He is so frail and how long can he really survive with no kidneys?!" Ziva cried.

"Actually Ziva he just got a donor." McGee replied happily.

"How can you know?!" Ziva cried.

"Because I just got a call from Dr. Stein I am a near perfect match. I need a couple more tests but if I am cleared and Tony remains stable. We will be going under tomorrow at nine." McGee explained.

"Great news McGee, you the perfect person to save Tony." Gibbs replied.

"Oh McGee! I am so happy! Thank you so much! You are saving my family!" Ziva cried.

"It is no problem guys. Tony gives me a lot of crap but he is my brother and I would be lost without him." McGee replied, embracing his friends.

* * *

Mollie hugged her legs to her chest. She had taken refuge in the bushes outside of the hospital. She remembered when she was little she would hide in the bushes when her parents got angry with her or anytime she was scared. It felt weird to be angry with Tony. He had always been so good to her. He chose her will being over his desires and he actually wanted a daughter. Not a glorified Barbie doll. She just couldn't believe that he was so concerned about his hair. He had almost died. He had been in a coma. He had no idea how scary it was to watch somebody so important to him almost die.

"Mollie!" A familiar voice called.

"Go away!" Mollie demanded.

"Not before you tell me why you are hiding in the bushes." The man replied.

"Because my dad is a stupid jerk!" Mollie cried.

"Well that escalated quickly." Fornell commented climbing under the bushes.

"He woke up from the coma and only cared that he lost his hair! He didn't care that I could have been orphaned!" Mollie cried.

"Tony's been through a lot. He did just almost die." Fornell reminded.

"I know and he should be glad that he is still alive!" Mollie cried.

"I know this could be hard for you to understand but like I said your dad has been through a lot. Even though he is not cognitively impaired. Since he needs a kidney transplant he can no longer be a field agent. Can you imagine losing your entire career?" Fornell asked.

"No but I don't want him to be a field agent!" Mollie cried.

"Why not?" Fornell asked.

"Because he could die! Every day he puts his life at risk! It's so scary. Every time he is late I don't know if he is coming home. Every time my phone rings at a weird time I panic. Every time my teachers get a call in the middle of class I am scared that they will tell me I need to get up to the office right away." Mollie sobbed.

"Emily has a lot of the same fears." Fornell commented.

"I just want him to be OK and I feel terrible for being so angry with him. I love him. I really do. I just wish that he would stop being such a jackass all the time!" Mollie cried.

"Are you sure you aren't Ziva's daughter?" Fornell laughed.

"Not genetically but she is the only mom I have ever had." Mollie replied.

"Well you are just like her and you are just like Tony too. Way too hard headed for your own good. Now come on. Your dad is having major surgery soon. Let's go clear the air." Fornell replied wrapping his arm around Mollie's shoulders and guiding her out of the bushes.

* * *

McGee watched his friend and brother sleep. He had explained everything to Delilah. Who was mercifully on board with the plan. So long as he followed doctor's orders, and he had been declared physically fit enough to donate a kidney. Since he could not eat anything after eight Gibbs had treated him to a lovely dinner and promised him a steak dinner once he could handle heavier foods again. Tony had the same deal but he would likely have a longer waiting period. McGee couldn't help but smile at the thought of saving Tony's life. He would be sure to lord it over Tony any chance he got. He was not doing this for accolades or to have dominion over Tony but because he loved Tony. Tony was the big brother he had always dreamed of. More importantly Tony had a precious family that he needed to have more time with. He needed to get to know his daughters and he needed to meet his new baby. The baby who would grow up with his child. They were going to be a perfect little family and McGee could not wait to see them together.

"Probie?" Tony called weakly.

"It's me." McGee replied.

"I heard the doctors talking. Is it true I am getting your kidney. Is that true?" Tony asked.

"Yes" McGee replied.

"You can't do it Probie. It's too much risk." Tony begged.

"No Tony I have to save you. You are like a brother to me and I want our families to grow up together. With both of us." McGee insisted.

* * *

 **A/N: I thought that McGee would be a good choice to save Tony. Since I have had Gibbs be the donor in previous stories. Jimmy would have been good too but I don't think he could be a donor due to his diabetes. New chapter will be up soon. Thanks for reading and please review**


	25. Hope

The next morning, bright and early, everybody had gathered at the hospital for the transplant. Ziva spent the night and Gibbs took Mollie and Kelila home with him. Then McGee and Delilah arrived at five am so that McGee could be prepped. The others all showed up around seven. If all went according to plan, McGee would be taken back to the operating room around nine and Tony would go back around eleven. They would be in recovery by that afternoon. If all went according to plan McGee would be released in three days but Tony's stay would be much longer. Starting out in the ICU for twenty-four to forty-eight hours and then in a regular room for the rest of the time. Once released he would either be sent home and have outpatient physical therapy or be transferred to a rehabilitation facility. Depending on an evaluation. The recovery times would vary but both men were hoping to be fine in time for summer. Tony so he could enjoy his first summer with his family. McGee on the other hand was looking forward to taking Delilah on a baby moon. The doctors advised that she would probably end up on bed-rest during the second and third trimesters. If they wanted to celebrate they had to do it early on.

* * *

Tony and McGee were sitting together in their hospital room. McGee sat up in his bed, trying to hid his nervousness from Tony. He wanted to save Tony but he knew there were risks involved and that did worry him. On the other side of the room. Tony who was still weak laid back his eyes half closed. He was nervous as well. Worried for himself but mainly worried for his family and the McGee's.

"You sure you want to go through with this?" Tony asked.

"If I don't you will die." McGee reminded.

"You do realize that you could die too?" Tony asked.

"Yes Tony I know but if you don't get a kidney, you will die." McGee reminded.

"And you're sure that Delilah is cool with this?" Tony asked.

"Yes" McGee assured.

"You do know this means you can't be an agent anymore?" Tony questioned.

"I know but Vance has already offered me a job down in cyber and I accepted. The pay is about the same and it's a million times safer. Plus unless it's an incidence of national security. It also means more consistent hours." McGee explained.

"Probie I am worried about you but the risks are much higher for me and I need you to promise me something." Tony requested.

"Don't think like that Tony. You are going to be just fine." McGee assured.

"Probie please, just listen." Tony pleaded.

"What is it?" McGee asked reluctantly.

"I want to be cremated and I want my ashes scattered of the coast in Mexico. I want you to go out at sunset on Gibbs' boat. I want Gibbs to read something and Abby to sing. Autopsy Gremlin can play guitar. I want Abby to play her New Orleans funeral music. I can't list everything but I have a list it's in a file box in our fire-proof safe. I also want you, Jimmy, Ducky, and Gibbs to take over for me raising the girls. More than anything I don't want you all to fall apart. Life goes on." Tony explained.

"Tony" McGee gasped.

"Can you do all that for me? Please?" Tony begged.

"Of course Tony but I won't have to." McGee assured.

"Thanks Probie and if I don't come out thank you and I love you." Tony replied.

"I love you too, Tony and it's no problem." McGee replied, struggling to hold back his tears.

* * *

Everything went according to plan, and McGee was wheeled off to the operating room at nine o'seven. The McGee's, DiNozzo's, and the rest of their collective family gathered around in the waiting room. Fornell and Emily had come just as McGee was being wheeled off to surgery. Mollie, Lana, and Emily had gathered into a group hug. On the floor in the center of a circle made by Gibbs, Fornell, Abby, Ducky, Vance, The Palmer's, Ziva, Sarah, Penelope, and Delilah. Abby led the group in a prayer for two successful surgeries. At eleven fifteen in the morning, the doors swung open and a Hispanic man wearing green scrubs and a face mask approached the group.

"Family of Timothy McGee?" The surgeon called in a fairly strong Spanish accent.

"That's us!" Delilah called.

"I am Dr. Gonzalez Dr, Gonzalez introduced.

"Nice to meet you, doctor. How did it go?" Delilah asked anxiously.

"I am proud to say the surgery was a complete success. Timothy is in recovery and should be waking up shortly. As long as he wakes up properly and remains stable he will be moved to a regular room in an hour. You can see him then but be warned. He is going to be groggy for a while and he will have several tubes coming out of his body." Dr. Gonzalez explained.

"That is wonderful!" Delilah cried.

* * *

After hearing the good news about McGee the team breathed a heavy sigh of relief but the relief was short lived. Because at twelve thirty it was Tony's turn go under the knife. Once again the families gathered together. The girls returned to their group hug and the adults returned to their circle. Once again Abby said a prayer and everybody held vigil. One hour passed, then two, and then three. After the third hour passed, everybody grew concerned. The doctors had said that it would be at most three hours. Now it was going on four and Tony was still in surgery. Finally Gibbs had, had enough. He rose from his seat and stormed off to find somebody, anybody who could give him information on Tony. He returned ten minutes later completely defeated.

"Did you find anything out?" Mollie asked.

"There were complications and it is going to take longer. That is all they would tell me." Gibbs replied, voice shaking.

It was nine and a half hours before a surgeon came through the doors and approached the group. This doctor was a perky Indian female.

"Family of Anthony DiNozzo!" The doctor called.

"That's us!" Ziva called.

"I am Dr. Koothrappali." Dr. Koothrappali introduced.

"Nice to meet you doctor. How did it go?" Ziva asked.

"Unfortunately Tony's operation did not go as smoothly as Timothy's did. He went into shock twice, during the procedure we discovered an infection in the left kidney. So we had no choice but to removed the organ. We did an exploratory and discovered a far more severe infection in the right kidney. Both organs were removed. The good news is that the infection had not yet gone systemic. So we were able to proceed with the transplant. Unfortunately Tony is now having difficulty waking up." Dr. Koothrappali explained.

" _Code blue recovery room 3! Code blue recovery room 3!"_

"I have to go! That's Tony's room!" Dr. Koothrappali cried.

"Dammit DiNozzo! I'm done playing around! You think it's OK to disobey a direct order you've got another thing coming!" Gibbs cried, as he leapt from his chair and chased after Dr. Koothrappali.

* * *

 **A/N: Tony may be the first person literally scared back to life. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	26. Hanging On By A Thread

Gibbs took off down the hallway, keeping less than an inch between himself and doctor Koothrapali. Only to have the door slammed in his face upon arriving to Tony's room. He watched in horror as the doctors slammed paddles into Tony's chest. He hated when Tony had to be resuscitated. There was always the risk of broken ribs and punctured lungs. The last thing Tony needed was a punctured lung. Dr. Pitt had said that anymore damage could mean a transplant and Tony wasn't exactly fit for a second transplant right now. Gibbs couldn't lose Tony now. Not after so many nights of fighting to keep him alive. Nobody slept until Tony came around that corner. He was doing so well and now this. Maybe he wasn't stable enough for the transplant but he was dying with no kidneys. After what felt like an eternity the doctors hung the paddles back up and announced that they had gotten him back. As the doctors were leaving the room, Gibbs rushed in and nearly fell to his knees by his son's bed. The machines showed that Tony was alive but his eyes were closed and his skin was pale.

"I thought this was over. You were supposed to be OK. You need to fight. You got that?! You have to fight! I know you are strong and you really can't give up now. Ziva needs you, those girls need you, the baby needs you, your teammates need you, I need you." Gibbs pleaded.

* * *

Back in the waiting room Mollie and Ziva had kind of collapsed into each others arms. Both were beyond heartbroken by the recent developments. They had been so hopeful that morning. Tony had been doing so well and the doctors had been so optimistic. Only for him to have major complications resulting in him crashing in recovery. He was recovering but he was still so fragile. Right now it really could go either way.

"I can't lose him. I just can't." Ziva cried.

"Me either." Mollie sniffed.

"You won't you know how Anthony is. He just cannot do anything simply but he always comes back smiling in the end." Ducky reminded.

* * *

McGee woke up alone in his hospital room. He turned his head and checked the clock. It was surprisingly late at night. Past visiting hours. That explained why he was alone. His side was killing him but that was too be expected. He noticed that his room was full of fake flowers. At least his friends and family had remembered his allergies this time. He picked up the note that sat on the table by his bed.

" _Dear Tim,_

 _I am so happy to tell you that you came through the surgery great. We talked a bit this afternoon and everybody has been to see you, but you were pretty out of it. The doctors said that was to be expected and you should be doing better tomorrow. I had to get home but Sarah is staying the night just in case. As of now your vitals are strong and your doctors think that you can leave as soon as Wednesday afternoon. You are probably wondering about Tony. Unfortunately his operation did not go so well. He had an infection is on very powerful drugs. He has your kidney in him. The infection was localized to the kidneys but they need strong drugs to ensure the infection does not return. As of now he remains critical. Ziva and Gibbs are staying at the hospital in the ICU waiting room. Please do not worry too much for Tony. He is strong. He will beat this and come back stronger than ever. The doctors say that you will be able to see him tomorrow but be warned he is extremely ill. Moving on Tony arranged a very special surprise for you. I am under threats of death if I tell you what it is but needless to say you will be very thrilled. Get some rest and I will see you in the morning. Scratch that we will see you in the morning. Baby McGee is making itself known today. I guess it wants it's daddy._

 _Love, Delilah"_

* * *

McGee let the note fall from his hands onto the bed. He had been so happy until he read the news about Tony. His heart would break if Tony died. He had given up one of his kidneys and his entire career to save his friend. Now he was finding out that it may have all been for nothing. He couldn't help but wonder what his surprise was but more than anything he wanted for Tony to be able to share the happiness with him. Tony drove him crazy but he was terrified of the world without him.

"Come on Tony. You know that Gibbs hasn't given you permission." McGee pleaded.

* * *

Tony woke the next morning with a horrible pain in his side. It didn't take long for him to realize that he was back in the ICU. "Great what happened now?" he groaned as he struggled to sit up. His head was pounding, and his mouth was dry and tasted weird. He reached for the glass of water that sat by his bed and greedily gulped it down. Only to immediately vomit it back up all over himself.

"Oh Mr. DiNozzo, you were not supposed to drink that whole glass. Only small sips and main nutrition through and NG tube." Nurse Turner explained.

"Sorry" Tony apologized.

"It's OK I am sure you were desperately thirsty." Nurse Turner replied.

"So when can I get out of here?" Tony asked.

"It is going to be at least a week but considering how close we came to losing you last night. Be glad you are getting out at all." Nurse Turner explained.

"How bad was it?" Tony asked.

"You were critical until an hour ago. You are serious now but we think the worst is over." Nurse Turner explained.

"And Probie?" Tony asked.

"Who?" Nurse Turner questioned.

"Tim McGee the man who gave me his kidney yesterday." Tony replied.

"He is doing great." Nurse Turner replied.

"Good now when can I see my family?" Tony asked.

"Ten more minutes until ICU visiting hours begin." Nurse Turner replied.

"Can I see my girls? I really want to see my girls." Tony asked.

"How old are they?" Nurse Turner asked.

"Sixteen and two" Tony replied.

"The sixteen year old can come as soon as she gets here. The two year old you cannot see until you are out of ICU." Nurse Turner explained.

"But I will get out alive, right?" Tony asked.

"We can't say for sure yet but we are cautiously optimistic." Nurse Turner replied.

* * *

 **A/N: Now to just keep him out of trouble until he can be released. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	27. Finally Home

Slowly but surely Tony began to come around. He was released from intensive care after five long and boring days. On the second day Mollie came down with a bad cold and was unable to visit with her father until his release from the ICU. He spent another week in a regular hospital room. By that point Mollie was well and he was allowed to see Kelila albeit very briefly. Unfortunately the extra days he had to spend in bed in the ICU set back his physical recovery. So the doctors prescribed a week long stint in a rehabilitation hospital. Followed by six weeks of three times weekly out patient rehabilitation. The stay in the rehab hospital was actually worse for Tony than all of his time in the ICU and the regular hospital. It was hours of intensive rehab during the day, followed by long sleepless nights. At long last after spending a month of his life in the hospital. Tony DiNozzo could finally come home.

* * *

Tony sat up on his bed and looked anxiously out the door. He was dying to get out of this miserable hospital. The rehab hospital was basically a nursing home but with more young people and in most cases people left after only a couple weeks. Tony said most because the man in the room next door was a quadriplegic TBI sufferer who had been in there for most of a year. Tony breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he would not suffer the same fate. It's not that it was a bad place to stay. They really did try to make it as nice as possible but it was still boring and stressful as hell. He worked all damn day and was only allowed to see his family at limited times. He almost had more flexibility back in Bethesda's, Intensive Care Unit. At long last he heard his family heading down the hallway.

"Finally! I thought I would never get out of here!" Tony cried.

"Sorry we had to buy pull-ups for Kelila." Ziva apologized.

"Oh but can I please get out of here?" Tony asked.

"We just have to wait for the nurse." Mollie replied.

"God I can't wait to get out of here!" Tony cried.

"I know, I can't wait to have you home." Mollie agreed.

"Mollie while we wait for the nurse. Can you take Kelila and get me a water from the machine down the hall?" Tony asked.

"There's a glass right by the sink." Mollie commented.

"I know but the bottled is so much better and with my kidney I really have to be careful." Tony replied in an innocent tone.

"Oh of course! We will be right back!" Mollie cried.

* * *

"Taking advantage are we? Well you have no idea how upset Mollie has been." Ziva remarked, once Mollie and Kelila were gone.

"Actually I do and maybe I didn't phrase that right. It's just I needed to get the girls out of here." Tony replied.

"They said you could poop in the toilet without assistance." Ziva remarked.

"Not even close." Tony replied.

"Then what's going on?" Ziva asked.

"I know this is probably the least romantic proposal ever. Especially after you assuming that I needed you to help me shit the bed but here it goes. Ziva this close call. It was the worst I have ever had. I should be dead or impaired right now but I am not. I need to start living, to stop being afraid. I know we have only been together a few weeks but dammit Ziva I love you. You are the center of my world. You have given me a beautiful daughter and we are going to get another amazing baby in about seven months. I want us to be a family. You, me, Mollie, Kelila, and the baby. I know we are a family but I want us to share a last name. So Ziva will you marry me?" Tony asked.

"Oh Tony" Ziva gasped.

"I am sorry I don't have a ring. I am sorry I am not on one knee in my finest suit but I could not wait another second." Tony replied.

"No Tony. This is perfect and of course I will marry you. That is the question I have wanted to hear since the day we were reunited." Ziva replied.

"We are going to have the best life." Tony whispered.

"I can't wait." Ziva agreed.

* * *

Of course there was a welcome home party waiting at the DiNozzo's house. McGee, Abby, Ducky, The Palmer's and the Vance's, The Gibbs' and the Fornell's. Aside from punch, coffee, and a nice buffet it was a pretty low key party. Everybody had planned to leave quickly. Expecting that Tony would be exhausted or tire easily and need to rest. Still they wanted to welcome their friend home and remind him that they cared.

"Where's Delilah?" Emily asked McGee as they waited.

"She had a paraplegic support group meeting but she's on her way." McGee replied.

"Glad she will be here." Emily replied.

"Apparently she has to be. She has my thank you gift from Tony." McGee replied.

"Oh what is it?" Emily cried.

"I don't know but according to Delilah I am going to freak out." McGee replied.

* * *

The party ended up lasting over an hour. Before Tony began showing signs of being exhausted and it was clear he needed to rest. At Tony's insistence the McGee's hung around. It was starting to get dark as the family's gathered in a circle around the living room. Delilah handed Tony a small envelope which he in turn handed to McGee.

"I bet it's been driving you crazy but I didn't want to give it to you from a hospital bed." Tony replied.

"Aw thanks Tony but you didn't have to do this. I am just glad that you are alive." McGee replied.

"Open up and see if that is still accurate." Tony replied.

* * *

McGee smiled and opened the envelope. He wasn't expecting much but he didn't want much. He truly was just relieved to know that his friend was still alive. He had no idea how he would have faced the world without his best friend. From the envelope he withdrew another smaller envelope. Laughing he opened the second envelope and two tickets fell out. He knelt down and picked them up.

"VIP tickets to Comic Con. Tony these had to cost a fortune." McGee gasped.

"A friend of mine is on the board of the hotel where they hold the convention. He lost his brother to kidney disease last year. When he heard what you did for me. He insisted on giving these to me." Tony replied.

"Tony you are the best. I meant this is why I saved you. I love you." McGee sobbed.

"I am glad you love it but it will never be enough to make up what you gave me." Tony replied.

* * *

 **A/N: What do you think? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	28. New Chapters

It felt weird to Tony to be back at NCIS Head Quarters. It was his first time stepping first time stepping foot in this place since that night. It was even more surreal to ride the elevator past the bullpen and know that he would never be an agent again. Instead he would meet with director Vance and determine where he would best fit within the agency or if he even belonged there anymore. A major part of his life was over but he thanked God that he still had a life. He still could not pass McGee without at least patting him on the shoulder and saying how much he appreciated him. It had been two months since the kidney transplant and Tony's doctor had finally cleared him back to work. Recovery was much slower than he had anticipated but he was recovering. He still tired easily and he still had moments where he was dizzy and weak, occasionally he would completely space out. He hated feeling that way but as Gibbs pointed out. At least he was alive and he was a hell of a lot better off than he could have been. Than he should have been and again he was well enough to work and support his family. Gibbs had offered financial support and Ziva had agreed to work extra jobs (this was back when Tony was sick and before she knew that she was pregnant.), and Mollie had volunteered to work as well. Still he wanted to be the breadwinner. It wasn't a pride thing or a masculinity thing. He just couldn't imagine being handicapped and nothing more than a burden, and he sure as hell didn't want to retire before Gibbs. of course Gibbs would probably turn himself into a zombie just so he could continue to kick ass.

* * *

Vance was in a meeting when Tony arrived but his assistant allowed him in anyway. He stepped into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. He hadn't been this nervous since his first law enforcement job interview. He looked up at the mirror and studied his face. It was the first time he saw how thin he had gotten. Ziva had said he had lost a lot of weight when he was sick and he had noticed a major loss during recovery. It didn't help that he had to be extremely careful what he ate and drank now and most nights he just didn't feel like eating. A dizzy spell washed over him and he had to grab onto the sink just to remain standing.

"When is this going to stop?" Tony wondered to himself.

Tony walked back into the office and took a seat. Vance walked in he looked great. The last time Tony saw him he looked frail and there were huge bags under his eyes. Now he had put weight back on and he looked very rested.

"Good afternoon Tony. How are you feeling today?" Vance asked.

"Dizzy" Tony replied.

"Do you need me to drive you home?" Vance asked, alarmed.

"No I am good." Tony assured.

"That is good. I uh had my own health crisis a few months back. Flare up and lets say I am going to be taking doctors orders more seriously from now on." Vance explained.

"Me too" Tony replied.

"Excellent now where do you see yourself in the agency?" Vance asked.

"I want to stay close to the field." Tony replied.

"Like training incoming probies?" Vance asked.

"If you think I can." Tony replied.

"You did an excellent job with McGee and David." Vance commented.

"They didn't take me seriously though." Tony sighed.

"They do now and any incoming probie who doesn't take the trainer seriously is dismissed from FLETC." Vance explained.

"It would keep me close to the field." Tony remarked

"And we wouldn't lose your unique skill." Vance added.

"So am I hired?" Tony asked.

"Are you ready to work again?" Vance asked.

"Yes" Tony replied.

"And your doctors approve?" Vance asked.

"Didn't schedule until I was cleared." Tony replied.

"Then I will see you at FLETC at O'six hundred, on Monday morning." Vance replied.

"Great" Tony replied, shaking Vance's hand.

* * *

After the interview was another major turning point in Tony's life. Today was the day that they would learn the gender of the new baby. They had agreed to learn the sex but to keep it secret from everybody except family until Ziva's baby shower. They were in agreement that they really wanted a son but didn't care as long as it was healthy. What Ziva didn't know was that Tony had already bought a ton of boy's clothes and what Tony didn't know was that Ziva had gone pink.

"I am so nervous." Ziva sighed.

"It is going to be fine." Tony assured.

"I know but so much can go wrong." Ziva sighed.

"We will have a healthy son." Tony whispered.

"Or daughter." Ziva reminded.

"We will have a healthy baby." Tony corrected.

"Please" Ziva whispered.

* * *

Tony sat with his hand on Ziva's shoulder. They were waiting for the doctor to come in and begin her examination. It had only been a couple minutes but to the couple it felt like an eternity. Tony thought back to his appointments with Mollie's mom. Technology was so different back then. Mollie's gender had remained uncertain until she was born. She was so purely perfect it had been love at first sight. Ziva was having the same emotions recalling Kelila. With Kelila she had chosen to wait. She was so thrilled to have a little girl. She just wished that Tony had been there but she was terrified that he would reject them. It was easier just to go it alone. Now they were together feeling the same powerful emotions and praying for a healthy baby. Boy or girl they just wanted to finally feel this feeling together. The doctor came in and began her examination. She moved the wand over Ziva's stomach and there on the screen were two tiny and perfect babies.

"Congratulations it looks like you are having twins!" Dr. Myra called.

"Are they healthy?" Ziva asked.

"They are perfect." Dr. Myra replied.

"That is the best news." Ziva replied.

"Would you like to know the sexes?" Dr. Myra asked.

"Yes!" Tony cried.

"It's still a little early but it looks like you are having one of each." Dr. Myra replied.

"Aw yeah! That is perfect!" Tony cried.

"Oh no!" Ziva gasped.

"What's wrong? They are perfect and we are getting one of each." Tony asked.

"They already look just like you!" Ziva cried pointing to the screen.

* * *

 **A/N: How will Ziva survive a pair of tiny Tony's? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	29. Life Altering

While it did take the DiNozzo's aback the news of the twins was not a huge surprise. At Ziva's first ultrasound Dr. Myra had suspected twins but the babies were still too small for an accurate reading. Even knowing it was a possibility twins were a still a big shock. Especially since according to Ziva they were a pair of Tony clones. Tony and Ziva were now in the process of deciding on paint colors and designs for the nursery.

"No! No! No!" Ziva cried as Tony held up a can of Ohio State red paint.

"But it's Alma Marter's colors! It is a part of the twins heritage!" Tony cried.

"Tony we are painting a nursery not a man cave. We need soft, gentle, relaxing colors." Ziva explained.

"This is relaxing." Tony argued.

"No Tony it is not good for a nursery. These are nursery colors." Ziva replied, shoving paint swabs in front of Tony's face.

"Purple is too girly and yellow is too Michigany. I like green." Tony replied.

"An excellent choice. Now let's decide on the shade." Ziva replied.

"Not today! I'm bored and I need to take my anti rejection pills." Tony replied.

"So take one." Ziva replied.

"I left them at home." Tony replied.

"You carry that ridiculous stapler around with you everywhere but you don't have the pills that keep you alive?" Ziva questioned.

"Yes" Tony sighed.

"Alright well I am going to pay for this book and then we will go." Ziva replied.

"Can we get ice cream on the way home?!" Tony asked.

"What are you eight?" Ziva laughed.

* * *

McGee and Delilah had learned the week before that they were having a son. They had already agreed to name him John Maximus after their fathers. They were painting his room a soft blue and Delilah's cousin had given them her crib and some other baby furniture. McGee was doing the majority of the work and preparation since Delilah would be on modified bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. So far all was well with Delilah and little John but due to her paralysis. Delilah was classified as high risk and had to follow certain perimeters.

"How was your day?" McGee asked as he stepped into the living room.

"Boring and yours?" Delilah asked.

"It was pretty good. Oh! Tony is going to be training agents in FLETC!" McGee cried.

"Does that mean he will be working in HQ again?" Delilah asked.

"Yes" McGee replied.

"Excellent! I know that you were wanting him to come back." Delilah replied.

"I missed hanging out with him and it's so cool to think our babies will be the same age." McGee explained.

"Didn't Ziva have an appointment today?" Delilah asked.

"Yeah but they aren't revealing the sex until the baby shower." McGee sighed.

"I know but shouldn't you see how things went?" Delilah asked.

"You're right" McGee agreed.

* * *

Mollie, Lana, and Emily were gathered around Mollie's room reading the latest title on their summer reading list. Mollie was sprawled out on her bed, Emily was at the desk with one foot resting on the top, and Lana was lounging on the couch. Lana had set down her book and was running her hand over one of her scars. She rarely spoke about the ordeal and, Mollie and Emily knew better than to pressure her about it.

"How are you and Gibbs getting along?" Emily asked.

"Pretty well. He's actually a cool guy. He told me about the prank and I totally understand why he reacted the way he did." Lana explained.

"What prank?" Emily asked.

"I'll tell you later." Mollie replied.

"We are actually going down to Mexico for a few weeks." Lana commented.

"Oh I am so jealous!" Emily cried.

"Me too but I know travel is out of the question. My dad is still recovering and Ziva doesn't have the energy for a big trip." Mollie explained.

"Speaking of Ziva didn't she have an the anatomy scan today?" Lana asked.

"Yeah" Mollie replied.

"And what is she having?" Emily asked.

"No way! They would kill me if I told." Mollie cried.

"Fine" Emily sighed.

"Anywho Gibbs said that you guys could come along but you have to get permission from your parents." Lana replied.

"Oh that is so cool! I will ask in the morning!" Mollie cried.

"That sounds great but my dad has been so ridiculous lately." Emily sighed.

"What do you mean?" Lana asked.

"I don't know he's just extra clingy and he gets all these weird calls and keeps disappearing but I always have to be there." Emily explained.

"He's probably just missing your mom." Mollie replied.

"Maybe but it's still annoying. I mean I love him but it took two hours to get permission to come over here to read." Emily replied.

* * *

Gibbs set one coffee cup down in front of his spot and placed the second cup in front of his guest. He took a seat across from Tobais Fornell and studied the grim expression on his friend's face.

"Since you are here I guess that I can go ahead and ask you if you would mind Emily joining Lana and me in Mexico for a couple weeks. Mollie might be going too and Layla and Amira are coming along as well." Gibbs explained.

"That's a nice offer but I don't want her leaving." Fornell replied.

"Look if it's a supervision thing LJ Moore is coming along too and so is Mary." Gibbs explained.

"Mary?" Fornell asked.

"My girlfriend we met when Tony was in the hospital. She has two daughters Stacy who is fourteen and Sammie who is eight." Gibbs explained.

"That is great but I am not worried about supervision. Emily's a good kid. I just don't want her to leave and come home to find that I am not here anymore." Fornell sighed.

"What do you mean?" Gibbs asked.

"I'm dying, Jethro." Fornell admitted.

"That's not funny" Gibbs remarked.

"I'm not joking. Believe me I wish that I were." Fornell replied, grimly.

"What's wrong? I can talk to Ducky and Jimmy. Both are continual students and both have friends in all fields of medicine." Gibbs offered.

"Believe me I did all the research and yeah I am screwed." Fornell explained.

"What's wrong?" Gibbs asked.

"Brain tumor inoperable. Chemo and radiation would buy me time but due to the location any surgery has a seventy percent chance of leaving me totally impaired." Fornell explained.

"God Tobais I had no idea." Gibbs commented.

"I haven't told anyone yet but I had a blackout seizure today and my symptoms are getting harder to hide." Fornell explained.

"Do you want me to be there when you tell Emily?" Gibbs asked.

"Could you?" Fornell replied.

"Of course" Gibbs replied.

"Good because you are going to take her." Fornell explained.

"I will raise her like she's my own." Jethro vowed.

* * *

 **A/N: Don't hate me but my original plan was for Fornell to die. New chapter will be up soon please review and thanks for reading.**


	30. Collapsed

Knowing that his closest friend was dying was a devastating blow to Jethro. The last time they had really spoken, before all this happened. Was when Tony was still in the hospital and Tobais had seemed just fine. He had noticed that something was amiss last night. His gait was strange and his speech was slurred. Jethro knew his friend had been sober for a year now and he had just come from his AA meeting. So he just chalked it up to being tired or even some lesser illness. They had agreed to break the news to Emily the next afternoon. She had been told to come straight home after her computer club meeting and that they needed to talk. Jethro would break the news to Lana about the trip being off over dinner. A far easier blow to deliver. Tobais did not want anyone else to know the news until he had told Emily. That way there was no risk of her finding out from a secondary person. That was the last thing the already vulnerable teen needed. Due to his condition Tobias was unable to work. A few higher ups at the FBI knew the grim details but most were told that he had retired due to issues with high blood pressure and hypertension. Issues that he had been fairly publicly battling for several years now. So no suspicions were raised. It was hard for Jethro to know this news and have to keep it so private. His heart was breaking but he had to put on a happy face. The last thing he needed was for the news to slip and end up spreading like wildfire.

"You alright boss?" McGee asked.

"Yeah just tired, didn't get much sleep last night." Jethro lied.

"Hey is Tony in today or does he start on Monday?" McGee asked.

"Monday at o'-six-hundred." Jehtro replied.

"OK" McGee replied.

"How's Delilah?" Jethro asked.

"Bored and she's going to be on bed-rest until at least thirty-five weeks. They are taking the baby at thirty-seven. So it's going to be a long few weeks." McGee explained.

"C-Section?" Jethro asked.

"Yeah vaginal birth is too risky, especially since John is measuring big." McGee explained.

"He's healthy though?" Jethro asked.

"Yeah he's just going to be a big guy." McGee replied.

"Well good luck to you guys and let me know if you need anything." Jethro replied.

"Will do" McGee replied.

* * *

His conversation with McGee was fairly uplifting for Jethro. His friend was still dying but hearing about John reminded him that there was still hope in the world. Knowing that thanks to Tim, Tony would be able to meet his child as well. Jethro thought about calling Tony and asking how the ultrasound went but felt it was best not to interrupt one of Tony's last days of freedom. He figured he would be soaking up time with Kelila and Mollie, and helping Ziva get the nursery ready. He also knew that Ziva had posted about the appointment of Facebook but he wasn't much in the mood to deal with technology right now.

* * *

Jethro used part of his lunch hour to call Mary and tell her that the trip was off. She was working the later afternoon/evening shift tonight and he knew that she was going to put in for time off then. He had simply told her that something had come up and he would talk to her again when she got off or in the morning. She was clearly disappointed but said that she understood and that she would plan a small trip with the girls instead. Even offering to bring Lana along. He looked at his watch and grimaced. It was just about time to leave and break the news to Emily. He had been cleared for time off, using the excuse of a last minute appointment. Leon knew that something was up but the explanation would have to wait. He reached for his ringing desk phone, fully expecting it to be a case. A case was the last thing he needed. He needed to be their for Tobias and Emily but he couldn't very well call a case and then just up and leave.

"Gibbs?"

"Jethro Gibbs?"

"Yes who is this?"

"This is Beverly Smith from Georgetown University Hospital. I have you listed as an emergency contact for a Tobias Fornell."

"What happened?"

"He passed out while driving. He is currently in the ICU and on full life-support."

* * *

Jethro felt as if he had been sucker punched in the gut. He had tried to get Tobais to tell Emily the night before but she had a big test in the college level history class she was taking over the summer and he did not want to stress her. He wished that he had just forced Tobias to break the news. He had such a bad feeling about this and boy was he right. He told the team he had to go and rushed to Georgetown University. It was a blessing and a curse that Emily's class and computer club happened to be at Georgetown. He met Emily just as she was heading out with her carpool.

"Emily!" Jethro called.

"Hang on it's my dad's friend. I have to talk to him." Emily called to her friends.

"Actually Emily you need to come with me." Jethro replied.

"Uh OK" Emily replied.

* * *

Jethro led Emily to his car. She tossed her backpack and laptop bag in the backseat and then climbed into the passenger seat. This was going to be rough but she needed to know. He wished that Tobias was here. That he did not have to break the news this way. That they would not have to go straight to the hospital where they would likely see Tobias for the last time. He remembered how hard it was to lose his dad and he was a grown man. Jack was old too and his health hadn't been great for a long time. Emily was two months shy of seventeen and as far as she knew her dad was in perfect health.

"What's going on?" Emily asked.

"Emily this is not easy for me to tell you. Your dad collapsed while driving today. He is in the ICU at the Georgetown Hospital. He is on full life-support and he he's not going to make it." Jethro explained.

"What?! How can you know that?! He's come back from worse!" Emily cried.

"Emily he has a brain tumor. He knew for a while but he couldn't bring himself to tell you. It was inoperable and treatment would have just bought him more time." Jethro explained.

"No! This can't be true! He can't be dying!" Emily cried.

"Emily I am so sorry." Jethro apologized.

"I don't want to hear it. I just want to see him." Emily insisted.

* * *

 **A/N: Tobias really should have told Emily right away. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	31. Lost

Jethro left a visibly shaken Emily in the waiting room to meet with one of Tobias' doctors. He knew from the report he had heard on the phone. That the news was not going to be good. He knew that difficult decisions would soon have to be made. Decisions that would fall on him now that Diane was gone. Emily was far too young to have to make these types of choices. He knew that Tobias wanted to be kept alive just long enough for his loved ones to say goodbye. He also knew that Emily would not like that decision at all. He followed the doctor down a seemingly endless hallway and took a seat in front of the big wooden desk.

"Mr. Fornell has suffered from a lethal combination of a ruptured brain tumor and a major stroke. He also suffered numerous seizures during the ambulance ride and in the beginning of his hospitalization. Ten minutes after we called you he suffered a second stroke. Which resulted in him crashing. He wanted to be kept alive until his daughter arrived but we could not resuscitate him. I am sorry." Dr. Jacobs explained.

"So he's dead?" Jethro asked.

"Yes I am sorry. We have moved his body into a private area if you would like to bring his daughter to say goodbye." Dr. Jacobs explained.

"I will see what she wants." Jethro sighed.

* * *

Emily shifted in her chair and studied her watch. It felt like she had been waiting forever but according to the watch it had only been ten minutes or so. She wondered why they wouldn't let her just see her dad. He was dying! Didn't care how precious their time was? The door opened and Jethro walked out with a broken look on his face.

"Emily" Jethro called.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked.

"I am sorry but your dad died. It happened just after they called me. There is no way I could have gotten here in time. I am sorry." Jethro apologized.

"No! He can't be gone! He just can't be! I hate you! This is your fault!" Emily cried.

"Emily" Gibbs started.

"No! I hate you!" Emily cried.

* * *

The DiNozzo's were blissfully ignorant about what was going on. They were home standing in what would be the twins nursery. Discussing how they wanted everything to be. They had decided on a soft sea foam green for the walls with pink and blue accents. They had opted to keep the furniture simple and brown.

"I cannot believe that you are having twins!" Mollie cried.

"Neither can I." Ziva sighed.

"Apparently they look like me and that's bad." Tony commented

"Tony you are handsome but you are also a handful. I do not know how I am going to handle two bald, toothless, incontinent, drooling versions of you." Ziva sighed.

"Well we can go to Italy and see if my Great Uncle Salvatore and Great Aunt Maria are still alive. That can get you your fix. Oh and they are incredibly racist." Tony remarked.

"Very funny" Ziva replied.

"Your aunt's bald? Like totally bald?" Mollie asked.

"Well when you are two thousand years old you don't produce as much of anything." Tony replied.

"Can we get serious for one moment?" Ziva asked.

"What's up?" Tony asked.

"We need to start discussing names." Ziva replied.

"When my friend Claire's mom got pregnant everybody in the family chose a name and then they voted on it. Second place was the middle name. We have four people and two babies. So everybody will be able to contribute to naming the babies." Mollie explained.

"That is a wonderful idea." Ziva remarked.

"What names do you like for your new brother and sister?" Tony asked Kelila.

"Pizza and Kitty!" Kelila cried.

"Let's keep your votes as middle names." Tony laughed.

"Brother pizza!" Kelila cried.

"Well at least we know she's yours." Ziva laughed.

"Ha-ha I guess the I almost died card has run it's course." Tony replied.

"Tony" Ziva laughed.

"Hey Emily should be getting home about now. We were going to meet Lana and plan our trip to Mexico." Mollie replied.

"Are you sure that Emily can go? Tobias is pretty strict." Tony remarked.

"Lana said that Jethro was going to talk to him." Mollie replied.

"Alright well don't count you cows before they hatch and have fun. Pick your names out. We will vote as soon as we all have our final decisions." Ziva instructed.

"It's chickens and I will think about it." Mollie replied.

* * *

Lana tossed on a light blue baby-doll tee and a pair of cutoff shorts. Before heading out the door. She was dreading having to tell Mollie that the trip was off. The girls had been so excited when Tony and Ziva approved the trip the night before. Everything was going to be perfect. Then that morning Jethro had told her that the trip was off and that he would tell her why later on. She was disappointed but knew that Jethro would have to have a good reason for calling off the trip. Lana rode her bike to the park where Mollie and her typically hung out. She arrived first and used the time to lie in the grass and relax. She remembered coming to the park with her parents. Back before Joanne came along.

"Lana!" Mollie called.

"Oh hey Mollie." Lana replied.

"So are you excited for Mexico?" Mollie asked.

"Trips off" Lana sighed.

"Why? What happened?" Mollie asked.

"I don't know but Jethro told me that something came up and that we would talk later." Lana explained.

"Oh no" Mollie replied.

"I am sorry but I guess they couldn't get the beach house they wanted or maybe he was worried about something happening." Lana apologized.

"No I understand that but I think that something is wrong with Mr. Fornell." Mollie replied.

"What makes you think that?" Lana asked.

"Well Emily said that he was acting strange and then the trip is canceled almost immediately after your dad talked to him last night." Mollie explained.

"Oh no you are right." Lana agreed.

"Come on we need to get to my place and call Emily." Mollie ordered.

* * *

 **A/N: Gibbs breaks the news in the next chapter but just how affected is Emily? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	32. The Runaway

Twenty four hours was all it had taken. For one life to end and two other lives to be completely flipped upside down. Well Tobias had been sick much longer than twenty-four hours. According to his doctor he had been ill for about three months now. Probably much longer than that but that was when he finally agreed to see a doctor. In a way Jethro was glad that his friend had died the when he had. Because the death he would have died, had he hung on. Would have been a much more painful and horrific ordeal. He would have eventually gotten to the point where he couldn't even get out of bed. His final days would have been like the last hours of his life. As horrific and painful as it was, his death had actually been merciful. His suffering was over but Jethro and Emily's had just begun.

* * *

Losing his friend had left Jethro feeling raw and lost. Knowing that he would never see Tobias again. That they would never get into pointless arguments or sit up all night drinking again. It hit Jethro hard losing his friend. He had already lost Mike and who knows how long Ducky had left. He was healthy for now but he was also old and he had problems with his heart. He had Tony, Abby, and the rest of his team but these friendships were not the same. They were more the bond that a father had with a son or daughter than the male to male bond he'd had with Ducky and Tobias, that he had with Ducky. Making friends never had been easy for him and he was sure it would be a hell of a lot harder now. He was an old man who was now tasked with raising two teenage girls. One of whom had taken off running from her grief. She had just run straight out of the hospital. Jethro had gone after her but she was already gone. She was fast. A hell of a lot faster than he was. She ran track and he hadn't been running since he retired. At least not like had been when he was an active agent. Now his runs were more like leisurely jogs. Sometimes he would just walk around the neighborhood. His knees weren't what they used to be and he actually felt a hell of a lot better not running so much. He had felt bad for a while but then realized he wouldn't be running after people anymore. At least he thought that he wouldn't be. Now his heart was broken for his lost friend and he had no idea where Emily had gone. He could hope and pray that she would come home safely, but he could not count on that happening. He also knew that he could not do this on his own. Tony and McGee may no longer be permitted to be field agents but they could damn sure go on this unofficial rescue mission. He grabbed his phone and dialed Tony's number first.

"DiNozzo, it's Gibbs. I need your help. There's a situation."

* * *

Tony sat on the arm of the couch studying his baby name book. He knew that he wanted the boy to be Timothy. He had known that from the start. He felt that he owed Tim everything. The Comic Con tickets and naming his son after him were fine gifts but they would never be enough. Mollie had come home and was sitting beside him trying desperately to get into contact with Emily Fornell. Tony didn't think anything of it. Assuming that she was just trying to get in touch with her about Mexico. Tony looked at her and wondered if he had been that obsessive when he was younger. He would like to think that he wasn't but based on his memories. He was probably actually a lot worse. He was about to say something to her. When he heard his phone ringing. Expecting it to be Ziva calling to nag him about his pills or ask him for the fiftieth time what kind of ice cream he wanted he did not exactly rush to answer. He wasn't even that concerned when it was Gibbs calling. Expecting it just to be the standard "Did you really give permission" dad call. His heart skipped a beat when he finally did answer and heard the panic in his former boss' voice.

"DiNozzo, it's Gibbs. I need your help. There's a situation."

"What's going on?"

"Tobias is dead and now Emily is missing."

"Wait Fornell's dead?! What happened?!"

"He had cancer. It's a long story I'll explain later. Just get to the Georgetown Campus! NOW!"

"Yeah of course. I will be right there."

"Good see ya in a bit."

* * *

Emily took a seat in the back row of the bus. She had paid the driver what she could and used the sympathy card to get the rest of the route. She had said that her dad had died and she was being sent to her uncle in Iowa. Her mom's sister lived out there and while her relationship with her aunt Marsha wasn't exactly great. She could not live with Jethro Gibbs. Not after the way he had betrayed her. He had promised her that he would take care of her dad. Make sure that he didn't do anything stupid. Well dying of cancer in this day and age was pretty damn stupid. There were so many advancements now. Yes chemo and radiation were unpleasant but they did a lot of good. The only way he could have died was from just ignoring his symptoms. Probably slipping back into his depression and Mr. Gibbs had just ignored it. She hated him and she wanted him to be miserable. If he even cared about her. He clearly didn't care for her father or he wouldn't have let him die the way he did. She looked at her watch it was just after eight. Last stop of the night was in an hour. She would get off and crash in the bus station. The next day she would try sympathy again. If she couldn't get that she had the emergency credit card. Surely Jethro wasn't cruel enough to cancel that one yet. At least she hoped he wasn't that much of a bastard.

* * *

 **A/N: Poor Emily so angry she doesn't see that her dad's death was truly unavoidable. Will Gibbs be able to find her before she crosses the country? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	33. Breaking Point

Tony hung onto the grab bar as Ziva raced towards Georgetown Campus. In an instant their perfect afternoon had been shattered. Both were still in shock. How was it possible that Tobias was dead? He had seemed fine when Tony was in the hospital and that was just a few months ago. Now he was gone and apparently he had been sick for a while. To make matters worse Emily was so distraught that she had run away from the hospital. Now Gibbs was left mourning for his friend and searching desperately for his AWOL daughter. Tony and Ziva had rushed out of the house as soon as they had gotten on the phone with Gibbs. Leaving an equally devastated and bewildered Mollie in charge of her little sister. Tony's mind went back to his close call. To himself lying in a hospital bed wondering if he would survive. He was comatose for most of the ordeal but he remembered the time he was awake. Wondering if he would live or die. He had come pretty close but then McGee had come to the rescue just in time. He couldn't help but wonder why he had been saved but not Fornell. Granted a kidney transplant was feasible but a brain transplant was nothing more than science fiction. He couldn't help but wonder why. Tobias was a great guy. If Gibbs was the team's father. Than Tobias Fornell was the uncle who acted stern but once dad turned his back he was handing out candy and letting you jump on the couch. Now he was gone and Emily was an orphan. Tony watched as the Georgetown campus grew in the windshield. He couldn't help but wonder when or if things would just calm down already.

* * *

The driver wished Emily good luck as she climbed off the bus. It was when she was crossing the rapidly emptying bus station that it hit her. She had nothing more than the items in her knapsack. She had her wallet, her house keys on the Colombo key-chain, a few feminine hygiene products, her cellphone and travel charger. Which was unfortunately out of juice. Come to think of it her phone was pretty low too. She wasn't even entirely sure of where she was. Sighing she walked over to the nearest bench, curled up in a ball, and rested her head on the backpack. It was freezing in the bus station and the bench was inexplicably wet. She wanted to be in her bed, in her house. She wanted her dad to come in and say goodnight to her. She just wanted things to be the way that they were.

"Hey kid! That's my bench!" An angry voice called.

* * *

Emily looked up and saw a homeless man with stringy hair and next to no teeth. He worn an ancient jacket and dirty pair of jeans. She had been taught to respect homeless people but never to approach one in the dark or if she were alone. Most she had met were nice people who were just down on their luck but she could tell that this guy was trouble. She jumped up, slung her backpack over her shoulders, and started to run. She felt a hand grabbing her backpack and whirled around to see the homeless man dragging her close to him.

"Been a long time since we had a girl in here and you a pretty one too." The man commented.

"I'm fifteen!" Emily cried kicking the man in the leg.

"My favorite, young and a fighter." The man replied.

* * *

Emily managed to pull away but she felt her backpack's straps snapping as she jerked away. She looked back and saw the bag torn and spilled out on the floor. The man took after her but mercifully was not able to move very fast. She lost him when she raced up the steps. She ran until she came to a brightly lit building. She flung open the doors and raced down the hall. It didn't take long for her to realize that she was in a church. She kept running until she collided with a tall woman with brown hair. She wore a white robe and a pair of black flats. An odd choice for almost ten o'clock at night. Even more odd she was in a church this late.

"Where did you come from? Pastor Ross told me that the youth lock in was next weekend. Are you looking for the shelter? Unfortunately we had to make some emergency repairs. Sleeping quarters have been moved to the empty K-Mart. The high school across the street lets the residents use the locker room to shower at night." The woman explained.

"Shelter?" Emily asked.

"Woman's and children's shelter" The woman replied.

"They take people this late?" Emily asked.

"If the person with the keys lets them in they do." The woman replied.

"Are you up to driving me?" Emily asked.

"It's only five blocks away and I need to get to the hospital anyway." The woman replied.

"Are you sick?" Emily gasped.

"Nothing like that I have to give last rites to a cancer patient. Actually need to go now. If you don't mind." The woman explained.

"You're a pastor?" Emily asked.

"Chaplain actually, Chaplain Melanie Burke." Chaplain Burke introduced.

"Emily Fornell" Emily replied.

'"Good to meet you." Chaplain Burke replied.

* * *

Emily watched the world whiz by her from the passenger seat of Chaplain Burke's car. A hospital was the last place she wanted to be right now. Especially so that the chaplain could give last rights to a dying man but right now she didn't have any real choice. She couldn't stay on the street. What if the homeless man was still after her? And she sure as hell couldn't go home. The last person she wanted to see right now was Jethro Gibbs.

"So what happened? Why did you run away?" Chaplain Burke asked.

"How did you know I am a runaway?" Emily asked.

"Why else would a teenager run into a church this time of night and electively go to a homeless shelter?" Chaplain Burke asked.

"Why are you living in a church? How does it feel to be asked such a personal question?" Emily demanded.

"Had to come into town last minute to help out Mr. Jenkins and they let me stay in the church for free. Besides it beats a hotel." Chaplain Burke explained.

"My dad died today. He had cancer and he didn't even say he was sick until it was too late for me to say goodbye." Emily explained.

"Where do you live? I am sure your mom is worried sick." Chaplain Burke asked.

"She would be if she were alive. She was murdered last year. I am an orphan. I am going to stay with my aunt but she won't let me stay and I am not staying with my dad's friend. He's an asshole who let my dad die." Emily explained.

"So what are you going to do?" Chaplain Burke asked.

"I don't know I guess I am going to kill myself. Nobody would miss me anyway and then Gibbs could go to Mexico with his girlfriend and her family, and my friends. They'll be happier without me and I will be happier dead." Emily explained.

* * *

 **A/N: Will Chaplain Burke be able to talk Emily down? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	34. Falling Apart

Mollie sent a text to Lana and leaned back on the couch waiting for a reply. Kelila was running around acting like a lunatic. Normally when she got like this Tony or Ziva would take her outside and get her tired out pretty quick but Mollie did not have the energy to chase her sister around today. She was wired from concern but she wasn't up to do anything. She knew that something was wrong with Tobias from the way Emily described his behavior and his refusal to allow Emily go to Mexico. She knew that something was wrong but she wasn't expecting him to die. At least not this quickly. Her dad didn't have time to give the details and he didn't know very much anyway. Just that Tobias had died of brain cancer and Emily was missing. That was what really didn't make sense. Emily was not one to just run off like that. She was in shock but that was still not a very Emily like thing to do. Mollie's phone buzzed, she picked it up, and saw that it was Lana calling her back.

"Hello?"

"Hi, so what all do you know about Fornell?"

"Gibbs just told me that he had cancer."

"That's all I heard too."

"Have you heard anything about Emily?"

"Not yet but you'd probably hear first."

"True"

"I tried texting her but nothing."

"Should we help with the search effort?"

"I have to watch Kelila."

"Oh"

"They'll find her through. My dad is good and so is Gibbs."

"Very true. Well I gotta go. Gibbs had McGee put this thing on my phone and it's going to shut off soon."

"Oh well call me in the morning. We can meet up if your parents are home or if they don't mind us taking Kelila."

"OK I will call you when I get up."

"Great uh bye."

"Bye"

* * *

Chaplain Burke gave Emily a nervous glance. She was trained to handle such a situation and she had handled similar situations numerous times, but this time she found herself at a loss. What was she supposed to say to this girl? She was just a kid and she had already lost both her parents. Kids were orphaned every day but something about Emily was different.

"So I guess that you are going to try and talk me out of it?!" Emily snapped.

"You have to realize that death is final. Once you are out you don't get a second chance." Chaplain Burke explained.

"Yeah I know that! I lost everything!" Emily snapped.

"You have Gibbs who is going to take care of you." Chaplain Burke pointed out.

"Didn't you hear me?! He killed my dad! He let him die!" Emily snapped.

"How did he kill your dad?" Chaplain Burke asked.

"He knew that my dad was sick and he didn't try to talk him into treatment. He didn't check on him enough. Even though he knew how bad off he was after my mom died." Emily sobbed.

"What kind of cancer did your dad have?" Chaplain Burke asked.

"Something in his brain." Emily replied.

"Brain cancer is tough. A friend of mine from college had brain cancer and while she got an early diagnosis there was still not much the doctors could do. With the location surgery was not an option. She did chemo and radiation but after a while the tumors weren't shrinking and she just couldn't take anymore." Chaplain Burke explained.

"Why didn't he tell me?" Emily asked.

"He probably couldn't find the right way. Could you imagine knowing that you were going to leave your child orphaned at only fifteen?" Chaplain Burke asked.

"Fine but hey why couldn't Gibbs have told me?!" Emily demanded.

"It's possible he just found out himself. When my grandpa got cancer he kept it secret until he was given days to live. It's hard news to break. I've never had to break it but I've seen people break the news and it gets ugly." Chaplain Burke explained.

"Still I wish he had told me before it's too late." Emily sighed.

"Me too Emily." Chaplain Burke replied.

"Thanks for trying to help but I really don't think that I can carry on." Emily replied.

"Is there anything else I can do?" Chaplain Burke asked.

"Make sure that my friend Lana gets my Dr. Who locket and that my friend Mollie gets my art supplies. She is an amazing artist." Emily explained.

"How would Mollie and Lana feel knowing you are gone?" Chaplain Burke asked.

"They will be sad but they will move on. They have each other. Mollie has her dad and her step mom Ziva and Lana has Gibbs. Not even Gibbs needs me." Emily explained.

"Ziva that name sounds familiar. Her last name David?" Chaplain Burke asked.

"It was but now it's DiNozzo." Emily replied.

"Emily I know Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva and I know that they would miss you terribly if anything happened. Especially Gibbs he already lost his wife and daughter." Chaplain Burke explained.

"I know that Gibbs is a good guy! I know that he cares about me but I just can't anymore and what if something happens to Gibbs? What then? I mean what if I am cursed. I am better off dead!" Emily cried.

"Emily you are not cursed." Chaplain Burke assured.

"Everything hurts I am so alone." Emily sobbed.

"Emily I am going to call Gibbs and have him come get you. You can stay with me tonight but I do need to handle Mr. Jenkins. While you wait you can sit in the hospital. There were people there who can take care of you." Chaplain Burke explained.

"Don't let them lock me up!" Emily cried.

"I won't" Chaplain Burke assured.

"See that you do!" Emily snapped.

* * *

 **A/N: Gibbs is reunited with Emily but will they be able to work it out? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	35. Off Again

With each passing moment Gibbs was becoming more and more hopeless. He could not believe that he had just let Emily run off like that. He knew that she was going to freak out when she got the news. He had, had the exact same reaction when he learned about Shannon and Kelly's deaths. That is how he had ended up being blown up the first time. He knew that the chances of Emily stepping on a bomb were pretty slim but DC had it's own risks. She could run out into traffic or get into the car of somebody who wished to do harm to her. He should have restrained her or had somebody with him when he broke the news. Tobias had been his friend for over a decade and he had failed his daughter barely an hour after his death. He was a failure as a friend and as a father.

* * *

Tony watched as his former boss and surrogate father struggled to maintain his composure. He could imagine how difficult this situation must be for him. Tobias Fornell was Gibbs' best friend and he had always been close to Emily. Now Tobias was gone and Emily absolutely despised him. Oh yeah and she was missing. He wanted so badly to help his boss but he had no idea what to say. As of now the only thing he could do was work desperately to find Emily and bring her home again. Almost on cue his phone rang. He yanked it out of his pocket expecting it to be Mollie calling to check in. He examined the screen and furrowed his brow. It was was Chaplain Burke calling him. Why would she be calling him? They hadn't formerly spoken in over a year. She had texted him that she was praying for him when he was recovering but last he heard she was overseas. Why would she be calling now?

"Hello?"

"Tony it's Chaplain Burke."

"I know, what's up?"

"I have a girl here who says that she knows you."

"Look I was eighteen and we were going to different colleges. It had nothing to do with her thyroid disorder."

"It's nothing like that. Her name is Emily she is fifteen years old. Her dad just died and she is supposed to live with Gibbs but she is too angry with him."

"Did you say that her name was Emily?! As in Emily Fornell?!"

"Yes"

"Where are you?"

"Gettysburg, Pennsylvania"

"Where exactly?"

"Redeeming Grace Methodist Church"

"And Emily is with you there?"

"Yes I am filling in for there associate pastor while he recovers from hip surgery."

"I will be right there and I am bringing Gibbs and Ziva with me."

"It will be nice to see Ziva again. I just wish that it was under better circumstances."

"Me too"

* * *

Emily tossed and turned on the couch where she would be spending the night. She was not even close to tired physically or mentally. She just didn't want to be awake anymore. She was holding onto the hope that the previous day had been a terrible dream and she would wake up in her room back home. She wondered if Gibbs was even looking for her or if he had just given up. He had Lana to worry abut and she was actually his blood relative. She was just the child of a man who had slept with Gibbs' ex-wife. She couldn't help but wonder if Gibbs even really liked her or if he was only pretending to maintain his friendship with Tobias. At least she was finally alone and she could cry without being judged.

"Emily are you awake?" Chaplain Burke called.

"Yeah why?" Emily asked.

"I called Tony and he is going to come pick you up." Chaplain Burke called.

"Oh so Gibbs doesn't care too?!" Emily snapped.

"He is coming too but Tony was the only one of the group in condition to drive." Chaplain Burke explained.

"Who else is coming?" Emily asked.

"Tony's fiancee Ziva David. She is a really good friend of mine and I think that she will be able to help you." Chaplain Burke explained.

"I know Ziva she's nice but I don't think anyone can help at this point." Emily sighed.

"I know that right now it seems impossible and you think that I am just being a jackass but it does in fact get easier." Chaplain Burke explained.

"Isn't that on page one of every book about grief?!" Emily snapped.

"Yes but it is true." Chaplain Burke

"We'll see about that!" Emily scoffed.

* * *

Sick, devastated, lost, hurt, and above all broken. Those were the emotions that Jethro Gibbs was feeling as Tony made his way towards Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He wondered if Emily would even want to see him when they arrived. He had spoken to the chaplain on the phone and what he heard was far from encouraging, Emily was suicidal and beyond furious with him. She was just a scared little girl who had lost her father and he had failed her. He wished that Tobias had selected somebody else to care for her. Because it was clear that he was unfit to be her caregiver.

"I am sorry, Emily." Gibbs whispered.

* * *

After a while Emily convinced Chaplain Burke that she was exhausted and wanted only to sleep. Once she was sure that the chaplain was gone. She got off the couch, grabbed the backpack the chaplain had given her, and slowly made her way out of the church. She worried that the homeless man would come back and attack her again. She again began to run until she came to a Walmart. She burst through the doors and asked the nearest employee where the pepper spray was. The woman not only led her to the aisle but also grabbed her a rape whistle, a cheap pay as you go cellphone, fifty dollar phone card, several small snacks and a bottle of water. All of which the woman paid for out of her own pocket. Emily thanked the woman and then she was on her way.

* * *

 **A/N: Emily is a lot like Gibbs isn't she? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	36. Thursday Morning

Mollie watched the sunrise from her "balcony". I was little more than ledge somebody had put a lattice fence around. Probably served as a windowsill garden to a previous owner. It was her favorite place to unwind besides the tree-house fort. The ledge had the advantage of knowing that she would not have to share it with Kelila and the twins who for now were referred to as Kitty and Pizza. She loved her siblings but she liked the idea of something she could fairly keep secret. Though Kelila would have this room one day. After Mollie had moved out into her own place or went to college. At the moment Mollie was toying around with the idea of studying criminology at Georgetown or Monroe and commuting to school. Most kids her age were dying to move out on there own but she just wanted to stay home as long as possible. She wanted only to make up for the years she had lost with her father and the woman who would soon become her step-mother. Her birth father was one of the best people she had ever known. Thinking about her relationship with him only made her feel worse for Emily. She was orphaned now. Yes she had Gibbs but he could never be her father. Mollie thought back to when her own father was in the hospital fighting for his life. She remembered her fears of being left alone in the world. Ziva had promised that she would continue to raise her and love her like she was her own daughter. Mollie desperately wished that Tobias had found somebody like that. Somebody she already lived with and considered a second parent. Gibbs was a great guy but he was just a friend of her father's.

"Mollie!" A voice called from behind her.

"Jimmy what are you doing here?" Mollie asked.

"Tony called me and asked me to take care Kelila off of your hands." Jimmy explained.

"You don't have to do that." Mollie argued.

"It's no problem. Breena has her cousin's kid for the day and he's right between the girls in age. We were going to go to the zoo this afternoon and just hang out this morning." Jimmy offered.

"Can you guys handle three kids on your own? I can come with. I have money." Mollie offered.

"It's no trouble. We can put Tori and Eddie in a double stroller and we have a harness for Tori that should just fit Kelila." Jimmy explained.

"Just be warned when she's in the harness she acts like a dog. So remind her that we go to the bathroom in the potty and people don't like being sniffed." Mollie explained.

"At least you don't watch the nature channel with her." Jimmy joked.

"Right?!" Mollie agreed.

"I like you. You get my humor." Jimmy replied, happily.

* * *

Emily was the first in line at the bus station on Thursday morning. She had forgotten that she had to pay for the second term of courses the previous day and had left her card in her back pocket. She finally decided to buy a ticket out to California. Her friend Liza lived out there with her dad and step-mom. She liked the Swanson's pretty well. Mr. Swanson and Liza's mom were always her caretakers when neither parent could take her. They were also the ones who made sure that Tobias and Diane did not murder each other when a school event, game, or recital forced them to be together. Liza also knew the pain of losing her mother at a young age. The first Mrs. Swanson had died in her sleep from a rare heart disorder, when Emily and Liza were ten. Two years later Mr. Swanson met a woman named Maria it was instant love and they were married with in a year. Liza and her older brother Adam now had a step-sister who was fifteen days younger than Liza, two new half brothers, and were expecting a half sister any day now. Adam was away at college and Melisa was spending the summer with her dad. So it's not like she would be that much of a burden.

"Here's your card back, mam and will you be traveling alone?" The woman at the ticket window asked.

"Yes" Emily replied.

"Alright here you go and travel safely." The woman replied.

"Oh I will, mam." Emily assured.

* * *

The temporarily reassembled team Gibbs was back to square one. McGee had set up a couple of old laptops computers in the basement store room. They were slow and decrepit but they had the technology to track a kid down and that's all that mattered at the moment.

"I got something boss!" McGee called.

"Whatcha got?" Gibbs asked.

"A credit card belonging to a Tobias Fornell was used at the greyhound station in Gettysburg Pennsylvania!" McGee called.

"Where to?" Gibbs asked.

"Sacramento" McGee replied.

"Put a BOLO out. I will call the bus station and see if the buyer fit Emily's description." Gibbs ordered.

* * *

Emily watched the world pass by from the window of the bus. It would be a three day long trip all together but at least it would get her where she needed to be. She had called Liza from the bus and told her that she was coming out to see her Great Aunt Lil and asked if she could stay with her for a few days. She would tell the truth when she got there. Good old Liza was game. She also announced that Maria had given birth to a healthy little girl that morning. Her name was Genevieve and she was perfect. Emily had longed for a little sister but instead she just got two dead parents. At least she would get two sort of little sisters, a big brother, two little brothers, and best of all a baby sister. The bus came to a rail road crossing, the read light was flashing. Suddenly the bus sped up as the driver raced through the tracks. She heard a loud horn and new instantly what was going to happen. Before she could react the train slammed hard into the bus. Just inches away from where she was sitting. She felt a strong jolt, a surge of pain, and then nothing.

* * *

 **A/N: Will Emily survive? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	37. Critical

Horrific and tragic, but not near as bad as it could have been. Those were the words used to describe the bus crash. The greyhound had collided at full speed with a train that was also traveling at top speeds. According to police reports the driver had fled the scene of the crash. He had a history of speeding and making reckless decisions. Nobody knew how he kept his job but today was the day that his poor choices had finally caught up to him. Miraculously only ten on the fifty-five passengers were killed, ten were severely injured, twenty-one had minor injuries, seven of those with minor injuries were treated and released, the other nine passengers walked away. Emily Fornell was among the critically injured but she was still a miracle. Everybody around her had been killed the four directly in front of her were killed on impact. Rescue workers thought that she was one of the dead until she convulsed in the arms of the firefighter who had pulled her from the wreckage. It was not long before a weak pulse was found and she was immediately placed into an ambulance. She was taken to a nearby hospital where she was stabilized and then life flighted to Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia. Her belongings were destroyed in the fire that engulfed the bus seconds after she was pulled to safety. So she arrived to the hospital as a Jane Doe. Both of her legs were broken, along with her right shoulder and arm. She had a severe skull fracture and major internal bleeding. She was immediately rushed into surgery. While hospital staff tried desperately to determine her identity.

* * *

Mara Ingram was one of the nurses working to determine the identity of the Jane Doe brought in from the bus crash. She fought to shove back her own fears. She recalled the argument she had, had with her thirteen year old son that very morning. He was making the trip to Sacramento to stay with his dad for the rest of the summer. Always yearning for adventure he had begged her to let him ride the bus. He would not have been on that bus at least not at the time of the crash but the thought was still there. She could not imagine losing her beloved child and she ached for this girl's parents. How would they feel when she never arrived to her destination? How would those waiting for her feel? Who was she and why was she traveling to Sacramento alone?

"Mara we found the Jane Doe's ID." Josie another nurse called.

"Who is she?" Mara asked.

"Emily Fornell, she's fifteen years old, and she lives in Washington DC." Josie replied.

"Washington? That bus is departing from Pennsylvania. What is she doing in Gettysburg?" Mara asked.

"That is what we are trying to figure out." Josie replied.

"Have you called her parents yet? Have they been identified yet?" Mara asked.

"We managed to find Emily's Facebook page and her parents are Diane and Tobias Fornell or they were." Josie explained.

"Were?" Mara asked.

"According to Facebook Diane passed away in January of two-thousand fifteen. We found Tobias' phone number but he passed away just yesterday actually." Josie explained.

"So this girl was orphaned yesterday and now she was in a bus crash. Is there anybody we can call for this poor girl. She needs it." Mara explained.

"Her emergency contact is a Jethro Gibbs. We are in the process of contacting him right now." Josie explained.

"Oh I hope that he is willing to care for her." Mara gasped.

* * *

Jethro Gibbs was tired of coming up empty in his search for Emily. She had bought the bus ticket but no hits had been made on the BOLO and the phones at the bus station were continually busy. He had tried calling her but the phone went straight to voice-mail. The only of her friends he knew were Mollie and Lana and neither of them had heard a word from Emily. He felt as if he had betrayed his friend and that feeling was almost as terrible, as knowing that Emily was lost. He was lost in his thoughts when he heard his phone ring. He knew from the prefix that it was a Pennsylvania number. Perhaps this was finally the clue they had been hoping for.

"Hello?"

"Am I speaking to a Jethro Gibbs?"

"Yes who is this?"

"This Mara Ingram from Children's Hospital Of Philadelphia. You are listed as the emergency contact for an Emily Fornell."

"Yeah she is my God daughter. I am her legal guardian as of yesterday."

"I am sorry but she was involved in a serious bus crash this afternoon and is now in critical condition in the ICU."

"Critical? ICU?"

"Yes we need you to get down here as soon as possible."

"I will be there right away."

* * *

Emily hovered between life and death wishing that they would just let her die already. She was miserable and in a great deal of pain. Both physically and emotionally. She cold see her parents but she could not get to him. She could also see Gibbs but she could not get to him either. She just wasn't so upset to be separated from Gibbs. She was still furious at him for what he had done. She had never felt so cold and alone. She could hear doctors and nurses talking about her and from what she could make out. The news was not good. She was critically injured in the ICU and they were waiting for Gibbs to arrive to make decisions about her fate. She knew that meant taking her off life support or not. She hoped that he would let her go but knew that he wouldn't. It seemed to be Gibbs' goal to make her as miserable as possible and so far he was succeeding.

* * *

 **A/N: Will Emily survive her injuries? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	38. Rally

Gibbs slowly made his way into Emily's ICU cubicle. She looked bad, really bad and he was sure that he was going to lose another child. Emily had only legally been his daughter for around twenty-four hours and she had hated him for most of that time. Still he did not want to lose her. Maybe she would be better off if he let her go back to her parents but maybe she was better of here. She was on life-support but they had brain activity. The doctors had said that the best thing he could do was just wait and see. So that was what he was going to do. If she took a bad turn and it was clear that survival was impossible. He would let her go, as hard as it would be. For now he was just letting nature take it's course. He picked up her hand and really wished that Tobias and Diane were here. Maybe they would be able to convince her to pull through. Of course if they were alive Emily probably would not be in the hospital in the first place. She would have never run away, never been on that bus. Well maybe she would have been but it would have been a standard act of teenage rebellion instead of fueled by grief. The guilt he was feeling was unimaginable. If he had just handled things a little better, if he had convinced Tobias to tell her the night before. Maybe this never would have happened and they would be adjusting to being a family.

* * *

It had been decided that the team remain in DC until Emily stabilized. She could only have family visit anyway and besides Gibbs needed his privacy. They had however agreed to meet up at the DiNozzo's for coffee and an impromptu campfire. They had gathered around the dining table. Tony and Ziva on one side and the Palmer's on the other. Abby and Ducky sat on the ends and McGee had pulled up a bar stool. Delilah had a meeting to attend that evening so she had opted to just stay home.

"Has anyone spoken to Gibbs?" McGee asked.

"I have about an hour ago. They said that she has brain activity and it is fairly strong for her state. Still she is extremely fragile and it could go either way." Ducky explained.

"And if he opted to remove life-support would we all fly up?" Abby asked.

"If Jethro wants us up there. He is very shaken up right now." Ducky replied.

"Still I feel like we should do something." Ziva replied.

"When Ed was in the hospital a few years back people would send Breena and her sister's meal. There are a few websites but you can send it anywhere in the country." Jimmy explained.

"I got a few of those when Delilah was in the hospital. I think her mom set us up on MealsOnInerwebs." McGee replied.

"We could set up a Caring-bridge blog or a Facebook page." Abby suggested.

"I can set up and run both." McGee added.

"The meals are an excellent idea. Especially if Emily stabilizes enough for Lana to come up and join them. However I do not know how Jehtro would feel about blogs and Facebook pages. I would wait and speak with him before we start anything." Ducky replied.

"When Ed was in the hospital he wanted privacy but Breena's sisters had to get back to work before he was out. So they started a private email and texting chain." Jimmy explained.

"That is a good idea but can Gibbs text?" Tony asked.

"I can run it. I have been taking an intro to modern technology class at Georgetown." Ducky offered.

"Do you have all of our addresses?" Jimmy asked.

"If you could write them down for me that would be wonderful." Ducky replied.

"Do you have paper?" Tony asked.

"I have my address book." Ducky replied.

"Is there anybody outside of here that needs to know?" Ziva asked.

"No Tobias was the last of his family and Diane only had a sister who has no interest in her niece or anyone in her family for that matter." Ducky explained.

"Alright well what else can we do?" Tony asked.

"We could pray." Abby replied.

"Well of course but what physical thing could we do? I mean that would take planning?" Tony asked.

"It sounds like Emily is going to be in a wheelchair for sometime. We could get the den at Gibbs' house set up as a room for her." Jimmy suggested.

"Excellent!" Tony cried.

"We should keep up with his house as well. That way when he gets home he can just come inside and get Emily situated." McGee replied.

"We should send him money or gift-cards so he can buy food and clothes." Jimmy added.

"Yes that is perfect." Tony replied.

"We could organize a fundraiser since she is bound to have some steep bills." Abby offered.

"No online or public events until Jethro has confirmed that's what he wants." Ducky reminded.

"We could put a collection jar at NCIS and maybe do a few workplace fundraisers. Like the basketball tournament we had when Agent Feldman's son had cancer." McGee suggested.

"That is fine." Ducky replied.

"Great so is there anything else or can we adjourn?" Tony asked.

"We should pray." Abby replied.

"Alright" Tony replied.

* * *

Lana would be staying with the DiNozzo's. Until either she could join Jethro in Philadelphia or Jethro were able to return. She had already set up shop on the pullout couch in Mollie's room. The girls were both severely shaken to know their friend was in the hospital but had opted to treat their situation like a long slumber party. Still they could not ignore the elephant in the room. If Emily would live or not.

"Do you think she will be OK?" Mollie asked.

"I don't know I talked to Gibbs and he wouldn't tell me much. What he did was really bad though. She is hovering right now." Lana explained.

"This sucks first my dad gets sick, than Tobias dies, and now this. On top of what we have been through before." Mollie sighed.

"I was hoping things would calm down." Lana replied.

"What can we do?" Mollie asked.

"The adults were planning ways to help and we can always help them. Besides that I guess we could pray and find a way to show Emily how much she means to us when she wakes up." Lana explained.

"If she wakes up." Mollie sighed.

* * *

 **A/N: Will Gibbs accept support or will he be Gibbsish and try to go it alone? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	39. You and Me

Tony and Ziva were curled up together on their bed. Mollie had gone out with Lana to buy some get well gifts for Emily and Kelila was down for her nap. Ziva rested her hand on her growing bump and let out a small gasp before starting to cry.

"Ziva are you alright?" Tony asked.

"They are both kicking up a storm." Ziva laughed.

"Oh let me feel." Tony cried.

* * *

Tony put his hand on Ziva's stomach, just in time to get hit with a powerful kick. He couldn't tell which baby it came from but it didn't really matter. Because seconds later he felt another powerful kick from "Baby B". A huge smile broke out across his face. His babies were going to be little athletes. Of course he would love them either way. All that mattered to him was that they were healthy and more importantly that they were happy, but this was amazing. He could see Saturday night basketball games and playing football in the park on Sunday mornings. He could see himself rushing around between different fields and courts, cheering on his babies.

"Why are you so happy? Do you enjoy watching me be kicked to death?" Ziva asked slyly.

"We have two athletes in there! It's great!" Tony cried.

"Great for you." Ziva replied.

"Come on Ziva it will be fun." Tony pleaded.

"It will be when they are out. For now it hurts." Ziva replied.

"It's going to be so much fun playing sports as a family and taking them to games and practices. I am going to love cheering for them." Tony explained.

"I am too." Ziva replied.

"They are going to be stars." Tony replied, wistfully.

"I wouldn't go that far but they will have fun." Ziva replied.

"I know but we have to get them started as soon as possible." Tony replied.

"Why?" Ziva asked.

"Those little uniforms are so cute." Tony cooed.

"Tony DiNozzo did you just coo?" Ziva asked.

"No my voice cracked." Tony argued.

"No it did not! You cooed and said the word cute!" Ziva cried.

"Please don't tell the others." Tony begged.

"Oh come on Tony you are going to have these babies in just a few months. Do you really think you can keep that hidden forever?" Ziva asked.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve." Tony commented.

"Oh do you now?" Ziva asked.

"Yes, mam" Tony replied.

"And they are?" Tony asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see like everybody else." Tony smirked.

"You got nothing!" Ziva cried.

"Yes I do!" Tony argued.

"Prove it?" Ziva snarked.

"See the problem now is you are putting me on the spot." Tony replied.

"Tony DiNozzo! You are weak!" Ziva cried, slapping him on the chest.

* * *

Mollie and Lana walked through the park. They had just finished shopping for Emily's get well gifts and cards. In the end they had chosen to avoid flowers and chocolates. Nobody knew how long Emily would be comatose and there was a good chance that any flowers would be dead and any chocolates long since eaten before she came to. They had gone into Build A Bear and made bears for Emily. Mollie had made a brown bear that she dressed as a detective and Lana had selected a white bear that wore Dr. Who accessories. They had then gone to the Hallmark store and bought get well cards. Two small ones from just them and then they each chipped in on a giant card that they were going to get everybody to sign. They got to the playground and Mollie climbed onto the swings.

"What are you doing?" Lana asked.

"When was the last time you swung?" Mollie asked.

"The last day of elementary school." Lana replied.

"Well come on!" Mollie cried.

"I don't know what if I am too old for the swing? I already get a little car sick." Lana remarked.

"Or you could have cancer." Mollie commented.

"Jesus Christ! Why would you say that!" Lana cried.

"I saw it on a bad Soap Opera once. It was so ridiculous." Mollie laughed.

"You watch Soap Opera's?!" Lana gasped.

"Nah one of my dad's girlfriend's was obsessed with them. I was home sick one day and that episode came on." Mollie explained.

"Just guessing you didn't like her?" Lana asked.

"Oh no I did not." Mollie replied.

"So do you like Ziva?" Lana asked.

"I do she is so amazing." Mollie replied.

"So when are her and Tony getting married?" Lana asked.

"They are going to do a courthouse wedding in a few days and then have a formal wedding after the babies are born." Mollie explained.

"That's cool" Lana replied.

"So do you like Mary?" Mollie asked.

"She's pretty cool." Lana replied.

"Do you think Gibbs will marry her?" Mollie asked.

"I really don't know." Lana replied.

"Would you be happy if he did?" Mollie asked.

"Very much but right now he is only worried about Emily." Lana explained.

"If she's a good woman she will wait." Mollie assured.

* * *

Delilah had gone to her book club meeting, leaving McGee home alone. He stood alone in the room that would be John's nursery. They had gone pretty simple on the nursery Blue walls and white furniture. Delilah had vetoed his "Game Of Thrones" themed nursery but had approved a couple of "Dr. Who" toys and vinyl art on the walls and drawers. As well as a light-saber above the crib. Because they were both John and Delilah's favorite animal. They had chosen monkey wall paper and sheets for the crib. He looked at the box under the crib that contained Delilah's big surprise. It was a special lift that would make it easier for Delilah to get John in and out of the crib. The changing table was already custom made for paraplegic parents. He had installed a handicapped bar on the wall by the rocking chair to make for easy transfers. This was not how Delilah or him had imagined their nursery would be when they first started dating. Of course when they first went out children were completely off the table. Delilah wanted to focus on her career and he did not want to be a federal agent and a father. It was a huge shock for them when Delilah got pregnant. Admittedly McGee was scared to death and had actually wished for a false positive. He carried that fear and wish until he saw the ultrasound. Seeing his son was amazing. He was just a little bean shaped dot on the screen but he was so perfect.

"Tim! I'm home early! Dora's daughter was sick so they canceled! I brought fried chicken!" Delilah called.

"I'm in the nursery!" McGee called.

"What are you doing?" Delilah asked.

"Just looking around." McGee replied.

"Oh well dinner is on the table." Delilah replied.

"Great I am starving." McGee replied.

"John kicked today and it was the first time I really felt it." Delilah remarked.

"That is amazing!" McGee gasped.

* * *

 **A/N: I thought we could all use a lighthearted chapter. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	40. Seven Days

A week had passed since the accident that had very nearly claimed the life of Emily Fornell. Jethro had arranged for Tobias to be buried beside Diane. A few of Tobias' friends had held a small vigil for him but the main service would not take place until either Emily recovered or until they could be laid to rest together. She had made improvements in the past week but remained critical and the doctors still couldn't give Jethro any definite answers. On the second day Jethro had requested that Ducky come and be with him. He still did not want the others to come up just yet. They had all already missed a lot of work when Tony was recovering from his ordeal and McGee was recovering from donating his kidney to save Tony's life. What he wanted was for them to come when Emily was awake and on the road to recovery. They knew that it would be a long and challenging road but they would get through it together. He would help Emily with her recovery and she would come around and realize that he had her best interest in heart. That's how he hoped that things would go but with each passing day he was losing hope.

* * *

The driver responsible for the fatal crash was caught and arrested seven days after the accident. He was pulled over on a suspected DUI. He was immediately recognized and brought into the station. At the time of his arrest he was well over the legal limit and tested positive for narcotics. Empty bottles of liquor were discovered under his seat on the bus, along with empty and half empty pill bottles. A passenger had admitted to seeing him pop pills when he assumed that most of the passengers were asleep or distracted. Security footage had confirmed the claims and more bottles were found in his home. Charges had been filed and his hearing had been arranged for the following morning, but he was facing some serious jail time. Since the crash two more victims had died and Emily remained critical. The driver's wife was already protesting his arrest. Claiming that he had been battling pill addiction for years and yet the company refused to get him help. They just kept pushing him to make his route and that they were the cause of his addiction. He had been injured on the job years ago and they forced him back before he was ready. However his medical records revealed that he had injured his back playing football in high school, two years before he was hired by the company. He hid his addiction well and nobody at the company had any idea that he even had a problem.

* * *

Tony was at work and Ziva's appointment had been postponed to three in the afternoon. Sensing that the girls needed a distraction she declared the afternoon and importune girl's day. They left Kelila with Kayla Vance and then they were on their way. Everybody was starving so the first order of business was getting lunch. After some debate they ended up going to TGI Friday's. Where they shared the Endless Apps Special, Ziva ordered the pecan crusted chicken salad, Lana the French Dip sandwich, and Mollie the Parmesan Crusted Chicken Salad.

"So why do you have to go to the doctor? I thought that the regular visits did not start until the third trimester." Lana asked.

"I am considered high risk because I am carrying twins and because being thirty-five makes me considered advanced maternal age." Ziva explained.

"But everything is going well?" Lana asked.

"So far everything is going great." Ziva replied.

"Do you have names picked out?" Lana asked.

"Yes but names and genders are not going to be revealed until the baby shower." Ziva explained.

"Aren't I family though? I mean I am staying with you." Lana replied.

"Nice try little lady but you are going to have to wait just like everybody else." Ziva laughed.

"Told you it wouldn't work." Mollie remarked.

"Ziva won't tell me but you can?" Lana begged.

"No way! Tony and Ziva would kill me!" Mollie cried.

"We should get going if we want to do any shopping." Ziva said studying her watch.

"Can I go to the bathroom real quick?" Mollie asked.

"Of course" Ziva replied.

"I'll go with!" Lana cried.

"No telling!" Ziva called after the girls.

* * *

Jethro maintained his vigil by Emily's bed. She had, had a good day overall, her best day since the accident in fact. Still she was fragile and a few moments of concern. She had brain activity and was responsive but struggled to maintain her oxygen levels and a stable heart-rate. Ducky and Emily's doctors had assured him that this was normal, but still Jethro felt concern.

"You gave us a few scares when you were in your coma." Ducky remarked, after Emily's heart and oxygen levels had plummeted for the third time that day.

"Not this bad." Jethro argued.

"That is true but your injuries were actually far less severe than what Emily has endured." Ducky explained.

"If she wakes up what kind of damage are we looking at?" Jethro asked.

"Well the level of brain damage will remain unknown until she wakes up but she does have feeling in her arms and legs. She may have difficulty with walking even requiring the aide of a cane or crutches but she can walk and more importantly has feeling below the neck and chest. Quadriplegic individuals require round the clock care. Often dependent on ventilators and feeding tubes to survive." Ducky explained.

"That would be rough for a young girl." Jethro replied.

"Anyone" Ducky replied.

"Would Tobias be mad at me?" Jethro asked

"I think that he would understand that Emily was just acting out of anger and grief." Ducky assured.

"I hate that this is happening to her. She is such a sweet kid to go through all this." Jethro explained.

"We all must go through some struggle and I pray that when Emily wakes her struggles will be over for quite some time." Ducky explained.

"You and me both." Jethro agreed.

* * *

 **A/N: At least the driver has been caught and arrested, but when will Emily wake up? New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	41. Wake Me Up

Emily was heading towards her third week of lying comatose. She had finally begun to make progress in the second week. She grew stronger and more responsive with each passing day. She had even been awake for a short time the day before. It was only for about twenty minutes and she did not speak or really move. She just pulled herself into a sitting position and watched part of the episode of Bonanza that Gibbs had on. Then she fell back asleep and remained that way, but she had been awake. She had been awake, better yet she had been aware. She was on the road to recovery. She just had to wake up permanently and all would be right with the world.

* * *

With Emily's condition finally beginning to improve. Gibbs felt that it was time for the team to come up and visit with her. Delilah was not feeling up to traveling but the Palmer's could not get a baby-sitter. Since Breena could not go, she offered to check in on Delilah every day. The adults had decided that it would be best to bring the kids up until Emily was actually awake and could enjoy her friends. Mollie and Lana were disappointed that they could not go but were understanding of the circumstances. They had no problem with keeping an eye on Kelila for the one night and two days that the adults would be gone.

"We are going to head out now." Tony said.

"I just fed Kelila so she should be alright until lunch. We have plenty of snacks for all of you but I want you to eat my meals. We have cold cuts and bread in the fridge for lunch today and tomorrow and a breakfast casserole for tomorrow morning. I made a pasta casserole, peas and carrots, and salad for dinner tonight and I left money in case we do not get back in time." Ziva explained.

"OK Ima" Mollie replied.

"Tell Emily and Gibbs we said hi." Lana added.

"Ducky too!" Mollie cried.

"We will. Now be safe and no parties. If anything happens don't be afraid to call us." Tony instructed.

"Make sure Kelila uses the potty but if you take her out put her in a pull-up." Ziva added.

"Still try to get her to the potty though?" Mollie asked.

"Of course" Ziva replied.

"We will call you when we arrive and before dead. We will also call if anything happens." Tony said.

"If she wakes up can we leave Kelila with Breena and join you?" Mollie asked.

"We will probably wait until she says she is ready." Ziva replied.

"Plus Breena has enough on her plate with Tori and checking in on Delilah." Tony added.

* * *

Emily had been moved to a rehab facility three days before. They came in and did some Physical Therapy with her at her bed side. Today she was the most responsive she had been since she arrived. She had even blinked her eyes and groaned at one point. Gibbs watched in amazement as the therapists stretched her limbs and sat her up to support her trunk. He was even more amazed at all they did to get her to respond to them and move on her own.

* * *

After the hour long session Gibbs was once again alone with Emily. He had received a call from Tony saying that they should be there in about an hour. It was actually a relief that he was getting this alone time with her. For so long doctors and nurses were rushing in every few minutes to check her vitals, clean her or give her some form of treatment. Now that she was stable and in rehab the checks only came every few hours or so. Ducky came by every day once or twice for an hour or two. Tony, Ziva, McGee, and Jimmy would visit this evening and again tomorrow morning. He was OK with that because he knew they would give him space. Once Emily was awake and up for visitors things would be very different. She would have at least three hours of therapy every day and visitors would be in and out when she was in her room. He was grateful that people cared about her but he would miss their alone time. He liked to think that she had forgiven him and that she would finally be willing to join his family. He knew that he could never replace Tobias and he certainly did not want to. All he wanted to do was give Emily the best life he could and make sure that she became a happy adult. A woman who would make Tobias and Diane proud. He knew that he could raise her and love her. Right now it was all up to Emily.

* * *

Everybody arrived safely and the afternoon with Emily. They had just left an hour before to go and get some dinner, Tony had promised to bring him something to eat as well. Emily seemed to really enjoy her visitors. He even swore that he had seen her smile once. Now that he was alone he was back to sitting by her side and willing her to wake up. It was nearing the end of visitors hours and he was getting ready to head back to his room. He leaned over to give Emily a hug and a kiss. He felt a pressure as he held Emily in his arms, he looked down, and saw that Emily had him in a tight hug.

"Emily?" Gibbs asked.

"Gibbs I am sorry." Emily apologized.

"You don't need to apologize." Gibbs replied.

"I shouldn't have run off but I was scared and angry." Emily explained.

"You had just lost your father and I am sorry that you had to find out he was sick the way that you did. Never doubt that he loved you." Gibbs explained.

* * *

 **A/N: Emily is finally awake that's the good news. New chapter will be up soon. I am going to end this story either after the next chapter or the next one. I have run out of inspiration and am starting to lose interest. I have an idea for my next story. Please review and thanks for reading.**


	42. The Woman She Became

Time wore on and after eventually Emily was released from rehab and able to move back to DC with Gibbs. She did outpatient physical therapy for two months and had been in the care of a local pediatric psychologist since returning home. Overall she was recovering and adjusting well, but she still had moments of pain and difficulty. She was transitioning well into life with Gibbs and Lana. Once a week Gibbs would accompany her to her therapy session and they would work on resolving their issues. Speaking of Gibbs he was now engaged to Mary. They were looking for a larger place and already pursing options to grow their family.

* * *

Things were getting interesting for the DiNozzo and McGee families. The day of Delilah's scheduled C-Section had finally arrived and Ziva was mere days away from her due-date. Ziva had already had a significant false labor and the doctors had warned that it could happen at any time. Naturally that awakened the competitive spirits in Tony and McGee. Ziva had an appointment anyway so the DiNozzo's left Kelila with a sitter and headed to the hospital.

"There taking Delilah back in an hour." McGee told Tony.

"I don't know Ziva's had a couple of contractions." Tony replied.

"How is two or three contractions going to get a kid out sooner than a C-Section that is now fifty-seven minutes away?" McGee asked.

"Don't ya know Probie us DiNozzo's just shoot out." Tony explained.

"You are a child." McGee jabbed.

"What kid do you know with my physique?" Tony asked.

"Seven year old who play Pop-Warner football?" McGee guessed.

"That's big talk from somebody who looks like Thaxberry Binx mid transformation." Tony teased.

"What is that supposed to mean?" McGee asked.

"You look like a cat human hybrid." Tony joked.

"Are you kidding me?! I am about to have what is hopefully my last prenatal test, Delilah is about to have a C-Section and you guys are arguing about each others appearances?!" Ziva snapped.

"Well it's just..." McGee started.

"We were uh..." Tony added.

"No excuses boys we all know how competitive you are and now is not the time." Ziva warned.

* * *

Ziva leaned back on the exam table, the doctor had noticed that one of the babies had a slightly weak heartbeat and had opted to do a quick ultrasound, just to be on the safe side. Tony was in the room and Mollie was in the waiting room. Even though she was scared to death Ziva was trying to have a brave face. She had made it this far with a healthy and easy pregnancy. Now this close to the end she could be about to lose everything.

"Alright Mrs. DiNozzo let's take a look." Dr. Myra said, flipping on the ultrasound machine.

"I hope that everything is OK." Ziva sighed.

"I am sure it is fine it's not a major drop but better safe than sorry." Dr. Myra explained.

McGee studied his watch, just thirty more minutes and they would be getting ready to meet their baby boy. McGee looked down at Delilah and noticed a look of disappointment on her face.

"What's wrong?" McGee asked.

"Nothing" Delilah lied.

"Mixed emotions about not being pregnant anymore?" McGee asked.

"Sort of but more than anything I am disappointed that I can't have him the natural way." Delilah explained.

"I know but the doctor didn't want to take any chances. If you do well with the c-section we may be able to have a natural birth next time." McGee explained.

"I don't think there will be a next time." Delilah sighed.

"Let's see how this goes." McGee suggested.

"Deal" Delilah replied.

* * *

It turned out that Ziva did not have as much fluid in her amniotic sac as Dr. Myra would like. Both babies were fine Dr. Myra still felt it would be best to preform an emergency c-section. Naturally Ziva was disappointed she was going to miss out on the natural birth she had been planning but she would do anything to make sure that her precious babies were safe.

"I can't believe this! We may beat McGee to the finish line!" Tony cried as Ziva was being prepped.

"Not the best thing to say when your wife is about to have an emergency C-Section." Mollie scoffed.

"Let me have my fun." Tony pleaded.

"It's your funeral." Mollie warned.

"So are you excited to meet your new brother and sister?" Tony asked.

"Of course" Mollie replied.

"What do you think of the names?" Tony asked.

"They are lovely" Mollie replied.

"Alright daddy can come with mommy into the operating room and big sister can head out to the waiting room. We have food machines and you can use your phone." Dr. Myra called.

"OK" Mollie replied, reluctantly.

"We will let you know as soon as they are out." Ziva assured.

* * *

Just like that there were three new and healthy babies in the world. John Maximus McGee was born at one fourteen in the afternoon. He weighed eight pounds nine ounces and measured twenty-two inches long. The DiNozzo twins were healthy as well. Baby Boy DiNozzo weighed six pounds two ounces and was nineteen inches long, Baby Girl DiNozzo weighed six pounds even and was eight and a half inches long. Tony and McGee had arranged for Ziva and Delilah to be in the same room even though the hospital didn't do double rooms anymore. The entire "Team Gibbs" family had gathered in the room and were anxiously waiting to hear the name of the DiNozzo twins.

"Everybody I would like you to meet Talia Kathrine and Timothy Tobias DiNozzo."

* * *

Mollie DiNozzo closed the book and looked out at her audience. She had just finished reading an excerpt of her third book. She had first begun wring the story of her life when she was a Junior in college. When her English Professor told her that she had a natural talent and that writing would ease the still obvious pain. Her first book was called "Secrets of the Past" and told the story of her abusive childhood and all that her father endured thinking that she was dead for sixteen years. The first book was dedicated to her family, friends, and all who supported her through her turbulent life. The second book was titled "Hope For The Future" and told the story of her attempt to rebuild her life with her birth father, step-mother and new siblings, and was dedicated to the memory her Grandpa Jethro Gibbs. Who had died in his sleep at the age of sixty nine years old. She had just published her third book after a ten year hiatus. In that time she had gone through FLETC and was now serving on the NCIS Major Case Response Team. She had also married Jude and had two children a son named Anthony Jethro and a daughter named Ziva Lane. She was expecting her third child but would not know the gender for another three weeks. Her third book told the story of her adult life and was called "The Woman I Became". This book painfully was dedicated to the memory of her father. Tony had died two weeks after Mollie started the newest book.

"Thank you I will now take questions for the next half hour." Mollie said.

* * *

 **FIN**

* * *

 **A/N: Did you enjoy the ending? Thanks to all who read, followed, favorited, and reviewed. One last time please review.**


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